Price of Duty
by StormLightJewel
Summary: She was a Commander; he was a Captain. Both are bound by duties of service. When they cross paths, will they follow their duties, or their hearts?
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

_A/N: I do not own Star Wars, only my OCs. Hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Prologue**

She stood by the pyre, wind whipping her loose hair around. It was a dark, starless night. Not even any of the moons were out. Overall, the effect was that of a coming storm: calm, yet the sky smelled of rainclouds, warning of what was to come. How foreboding and ominous.

How appropriate.

Sixteen.

The storm was just like her: appearing to be calm, composed, _safe_. But she was not. Far from it. How appropriate that this was what it took to make her realize it. She felt the tears fall from her cheeks, but she acted as though she'd never felt them. She could only take a few minutes; her duties were calling, and they were difficult duties indeed.

 _Dieciseis._

Her duty. She knew it was right, what had happened. It had to happen; there was no other choice. There was no other way. Dimly, she remembered holobooks she had once read diligently as a child. There was always a happy ending there; the hero always saved the day, had always saved everyone that mattered. The bad guys had been defeated; there was always a bright future in her books.

But life was not like her stories. Life was difficult, complicated, designed to tear at you until you despaired. Especially for her and her people.

She was too young for this, too young for what had happened. But what was done was done, and there's nothing that could have changed that. Not anymore, thanks to her.

It had been the right choice; she knew that was true. But she couldn't help but hate herself for doing what had to be done. Sacrifices had had to be made. This sacrifice was almost too much. In return for her duty, she had forever forsaken those that she cared about, those that she loved. All except for one, that is, but that was to be expected. She'd been with her since she was a young child, she understood in a way the others never could and never would.

It was right, but it was also wrong. She despised herself, and knew that she'd never be able to forgive herself for what had happened because of her weakness. Her duty.

Her blade blazed, lighting the pyre, even as the storm began to rain down on her. But she wouldn't let the storm put it out. _She_ deserved at least a little respect, even after everything that'd happened because of _her_. So the pyre burned, along with the body of _her_ on it. She couldn't say her name. It hurt too much. So, instead, she spoke two words: "Good-bye, _amor_."

Duty called.

* * *

 _A/N: Well, I hope you all enjoyed that; I do plan to continue, though I don't know of any specific dates. I'm going to try at least once a week. Oh, and for those who haven't gotten it, the italicized "her" is referring to a second person, not the girl by the pyre (I know it's a little vague). I love giving these mysterious kind of elements to a story, so expect an air of mystery overshadowing things throughout._

 _Please read and review!_


	2. Chapter 2: A New Mission

_A/N: Well, I'm back a lot sooner than I said, since I'm just working on this when I have the time, so here's Chapter 2. Enjoy!_

 **Chapter 2: A New Mission**

 _22 BBY (approximately 3.5 years later)_

The footsteps of clone captain Rex echoed down the corridors of the _Resolute_ as he made his way to the bridge to meet with his Jedi superiors. Whenever he passed any troopers, they stopped what they were doing and saluted him formally, to which he returned, before going about their business. His position as the commander of the 501st Legion tended to do that to soldiers. As he continued on toward the Jedi, he wondered how long those saluting men would have before they met their ends on the receiving end of a blaster from a battle droid.

Once clones got off of Kamino and into the raw reality of war, the rules were simple and easy to learn quickly: find a blaster, shoot at droids, and don't die. That last part was always the toughest for people to keep, though. There was always something that happened: Separatist reinforcements, unexpected bombs, the hazardous conditions of the world they were on at the moment. It was especially hard when clones realized that their buddy wasn't coming back, and had to cover up the pain because there was another battle, and distracting emotions would get them killed in no time.

The thought made him exhale in frustration, knowing that it was a part of life for clone troopers in the Grand Army of the Republic, but it didn't mean that he had to like it, so he didn't like it. At all. Most of these men were straight from Kamino, seeing as there had been only five surviving clones after Teth, including Rex. Thinking of Teth made him clench his hand into a fist with anger. _Kriffing clankers,_ he thought bitterly. Maybe it'd have felt different if the Republic was actually fighting flesh-and-blood people; at least then the brothers of dead clones could try for a little revenge. But, no. They were fighting emotionless droids who were programmed to destroy everyone and everything in their paths. And it always seemed like the Separatists had never-ending resources for their droids. Just last month, the Legion had been deployed to Geonosis to take out one of their droid factories.

The kriffing war just seemed to keep dragging on with no end in sight, with only the bodies of dead brothers to show for their victories.

Rex stepped onto the bridge to see his Jedi General and Commander in the middle of a discussion, but they immediately stopped when they saw him.

"Captain Rex," General Skywalker called him over to the hologram table. "The briefing with the Jedi Council is about to start." Even as he said the words the hologram of the Council flickered and readjusted itself. Probably something wrong with the receiver again. Rex came to stand by the kid, Ahsoka Tano, as General Yoda began.

"Greetings to you again, Skywalker. Glad to see you are faring well with your new troops, I am."

"Thank you, Master Yoda. We've been making good progress with them," Skywalker answered in complete respect.

"A new mission the Council has for you, your Padawan, and your Captain."

General Mace Windu continued. "We've been tracking an expert Separatist spy for a few weeks now, and we believe we know where she is now. Her name is Wicura Strain. You need to intercept her and stop her from getting to the Separatists. Before we found her out, she'd hacked into the highest levels of the Republic files and stole vital information about how we scramble our communications codes. If she's able to hand that information off to the Separatists, they would have the means to decode our transmissions of our battle strategies and troop deployments, or worse: they could hack into our communications and send our ships into Separatist traps. We could lose the war because of this spy. This mission is of the highest priority."

"Understood, Master Windu. But I do have a question. Why can't we take all our troops to take her down?"

"Because the ship she stole crashed in the Outer Rim, on the planet Kalifa."

"But isn't Kalifa with the Republic?" Commander Tano inquired.

"It is still with the Republic, but relations regarding the Kalifan leaders and the Senate have been…strained. A large number of troops on their planet would be perceived as a threat. The Council has arranged for you to meet with one of them regarding this matter. His name is Ruchbah Lyiknan. Don't do or say anything that will make him think that the Republic will be a threat to Kalifa."

"Of course, Master Windu. We'll go right away."

"We'll send you a hologram of the spy so you can find Strain more easily once you get to Kalifa. May the Force be with you."

The hologram flickered out as Skywalker turned to his crew. "All right, Snips, Rex, let's get going. I don't want to have to take too long with this spy. We'll take Artoo and the Twilight with us. We leave in one standard hour, so that should be enough time to say your fond farewells." Skywalker smirked to show he was kidding.

"Yes, sir." Rex replied as Ahsoka echoed his words, only with "Master" instead of "Sir."

Rex left the bridge and strode into his cabin, scanning to see if there was anything he should take besides his gear. There was nothing. He decided he should say farewell to troopers like Coric, Kix, Hardcase, and Jesse. There'd be no telling when he'd be back. Or _if_ he'd be back. Rex shoved the thought aside. He didn't have time for those kinds of thoughts. There was a mission to finish, and his duty was solely to the Republic and his men. It was what he was bred for, and it was what he'd die for. He didn't know about a lot of things besides war, but he knew _that_ was true.

Even if he didn't like it.

* * *

Wicura Strain turned off her holoprojector in the dimly lit bar of one of Kalifa's many small towns that nobody cared about. She belatedly brushed her short auburn hair out of her eyes, and couldn't help but feel a small sense of accomplishment.

She'd finally made use of the codes she'd stolen from her now ex-employers. She looked around her, carefully watching the regular drunks and partyers to make sure nobody got any stupid ideas. Thankfully, they were all too busy yelling at the holoscreen playing the boloball game finals to pay any attention to the quiet woman in the black cloak. Even so, she tugged her hood lower down over her head. One could never be too sure, especially in unfamiliar places like these. Oh, she didn't mean the planet as a whole, just these small pockets of civilization spread out all over. She'd lived in the capital city, though.

Once. But that no longer mattered. All that mattered was getting out of this system, and soon. If the Republic was coming, then it was only a matter of time before—

Her thoughts abruptly stopped, and her anxious, fearful expression melted away like ice in the summer, replaced by a sly smile and eyes that would have made Jango Fett himself cower. Her thought pattern returned.

So, the Republic had managed to track her down to this backwater planet. She should have been expecting it, but it was still no big surprise. Nothing was a surprise anymore. Her hand slipped her projector into her belt, then drifted to her hidden weapon, one the other her had never dreamed of keeping, but she still kept it and carried it. Because of her. Her smile widened, turning into an amused chuckle. She signaled the bartender to bring her a glass of a traditional Kalifan drink, cava. It was used for mostly celebrations.

Well, this was certainly cause for celebrate.

The Chosen One and his followers were coming. She'd make the most of this opportunity. It had been a long time since she truly enjoyed herself. She'd start with some innocent blood first. Maybe a forest fire or two, and then perhaps she'd look up an old friend here. _An old_ friend _,_ Wicura mused as she swirled her drink in its glass, _that's a good one._ She tilted her head back and sipped the drink.

Her duty was always something to be rivaled. That was why she loved it.

Cheers.

* * *

 _A/N:_ _No, this creepy chick is NOT my main OC. Originally, she was just a person to bring Rex to my main OC, but then I couldn't resist giving her depth. I'm not going to tell you what her deal is yet, I'll just wait for you to tell me what you think. Maybe you'll get it right ;)_

 _There's also a reason why Wicura and Rex's views on their duties conflict, just so you know (I love the mystery of things!)._

 _Oh, and if you wonder how I came up with these cool Star Wars names, that's because I got them from the Star Wars Name Generator. Just look up "Star Wars Names" and you'll find what I found (for those struggling for authentic Star Wars names that are cool and unique)._

 _Ironically enough, the website where I found the drink Wicura orders is not apparently used for celebration (though the author could have just been running an entertaining commentary)_

 _I apologize if the part with Rex is a bit flat; I'm not very good at building up to things, and this is my first time writing fanfiction._

 _Please read and review; I'd like to see if people have any ideas for this thing (even though there's not a whole lot for people to carried away with yet)._

 _P.S. Do any of you know where I got the idea of people in a bar doing nothing but freaking out over watching boloball? (Hint: it's part of my everyday life now.) I also hope you know where I got the name for the homeplanet of my main OC!_


	3. Chapter 3: The Unexpected

**Chapter 3: The Unexpected**

The _Twilight_ shot out of hyperspace into the Kalifa system, revealing a mostly dark green planet with a few splotches of blue. Rex didn't say this about most of the planets he'd been to, but he had to admit this planet was beautiful to see. The old rust-bucket sped to Kalifa's surface towards the coordinates Ruchbah Lyiknan had given the Council. Rex occupied himself for the next few minutes by pulling up the holo of Wicura Strain so he'd have an easier time spotting her.

Overall, she didn't look like much: she was Human, with short, dark red hair and light green eyes with an expression like an eopie caught in the spotlights of a ship. Based on the holo schematics, she couldn't have been more than a head shorter than him. Shouldn't be too hard to catch her. She didn't appear to be a dangerous person, despite the fact that she had a blaster on her belt in the hologram.

Of course, there was still the matter of pacifying Lyiknan with their mission. As soon as Rex thought that, the _Twilight_ shuddered and landed at the coordinates. Looking out, Rex saw that it was night on the planet, and scrutinized the two silhouettes of humanoid bodies outside.

"General, did the Jedi Council ever say Lyiknan would have any friends with him?"

"No, they did not." Skywalker looked agitated by the question. "Keep your guard up until we know how things are gonna go." He and Ahsoka slipped on their Jedi cloaks before disengaging the latch on the ship's ramp. The trio stepped out into the cloudy night sky and made their way to their hosts.

It was too dark to clearly see them, but Rex believed that, based on the shapes of the silhouetted bodies standing against the dark night, one was male and the other was female. Both wore hooded cloaks similar to the Jedi's, and that was all that could be determined before the male humanoid spoke.

"I assume you're the people the Republic sent to deal with your spy here?" His tone was hostile and skeptical, and Rex instantly disliked him.

"Yes, we are. I am General Skywalker, this is Commander Tano and Captain Rex." Skywalker pointed out each of them as he referred to his crew. "I assume you're Lyiknan. Do you have any information regarding this Separatist spy? It's important we find her before she gets to the Separatists."

The assumed Lyiknan, however, acted as though he hadn't even heard Skywalker, which increased Rex's own hostility towards him. "We'd best talk somewhere inside. Follow us. Now." His tone indicated that there wasn't a choice in the matter for them.

* * *

The Republic trio followed the Kalifan duo to a cantina in a small nearby village. Lyiknan unlocked the door and everyone went inside the dark building. Rex was about to switch to night vision when the female flicked on the lights, revealing the cantina to be completely empty, though there were a few overturned chairs and tables, probably results of a bar fight. It appeared to be reasonably clean, for a cantina, anyway.

"Nobody'll bother us here." Their host supplied as he and his colleague flicked their hoods off, revealing themselves to be Human. Skywalker and his Padawan did the same, Rex took off his jaig-eye adorned helmet, and the group sat at a nearby table that hadn't been upset. "Now, first of all, your Jedi Council did not tell us any specific details about this spy of yours, only that she'd stolen some information from you. And seeing as we're the ones who will decide whether or not you can stay on this planet to find your spy, you'd better start giving us the details of your mission here."

At this, Skywalker began to narrow his eyes at Lyiknan, as the other man did likewise. After a few minutes of a stare-down, Skywalker relented and told him.

As Skywalker talked, Rex took to observing their "hosts." Lyiknan looked to be in his mid to late twenties, with short, black, slightly spiked hair, brown eyes, and dark skin. The female Human, on the other hand, appeared to not even be twenty years old yet, with long, dark brown hair parted on the left side of her head, pulled back into a thick braid that went down her back, slightly tanned skin, and large dark violet eyes. She was, according to the galactic preference, anyway, what was known as "drop-dead gorgeous" ( _more like bring-a-dead-person-back-to-life gorgeous,_ Rex smiled to himself). She actually reminded Rex a lot of the posters the clone soldiers at the barracks liked to put up of gorgeous women, with her flawless beauty and pleasing figure, though, thankfully, she was a lot more modestly dressed than those posters.

Skywalker finished up his explanation to the Kalifans, and said, "Are any of you familiar with the name _Wicura Strain_?" At the mention of the spy's name, the girl stiffened slightly before resuming her posture, her eyes flickering with anger and…something else that disappeared too swiftly for Rex to properly discern. Before he had much time to examine why she looked so agitated by this spy, his answer was given to him.

"Do you know anything about Wicura Strain, Rebecca?" Lyiknan asked his colleague, clearly a bit concerned for her. Rebecca took a breath before leaning on the table with her elbows propped up and her intertwined hands supporting her chin.

"Unfortunately, I do." Rebecca spoke in a hard tone, as though she were trying not to let out a long string of galactically-known curse words, which matched that angry look in her eyes. "Wicura Strain is one of our most-wanted criminals. She's an incredibly dangerous and incredibly smart person; she was tried for murder, property damage, and conspiring with Kalifan-based criminal organizations. Wicura was sentenced to death, but she escaped while en route to the executioner prison. She hasn't been seen or heard of on Kalifa for about three years. If she's here, that could mean bad news for us."

* * *

Wicura silently watched the people go by in the forest from her hiding place in the foliage. They were so ignorant to what would soon happen to them until it would be too late. Her lips flickered in an amused smile. It was always too easy to do this kind of thing. People tended to be naïve, not ever truly realizing things until they'd happened, and it was too late to change things. Most people only saw what they wanted to see, anyway. Well, she'd give them something to see. She pressed her hand to a nearby tree until smoke started to appear. She then pulled her hand from the tree, revealing a smoldering black handprint. Flames began to appear on that print, and they spread out over the tree and the surrounding area quickly.

People started to stop walking when they smelled the smoke and saw the fire. They first looked at the flames in shock; a forest fire in the middle of winter? Then that shock turned to panic as people began to run from the fire. The fire spread too quickly for many of them to escape its clutches. The captives screamed in agony as the fire slowly, yet surely, claimed them.

The ones that escaped the fire had little time to mourn for the victims, or rejoice in their survival. Wicura stepped out of the foliage and leisurely advanced on the civilians. They were always _so_ easy to bring pain to. As she brought her concealed weapon out, she thought about how much fun her new play things would be. Most of the ones in the past had never presented much of a challenge. Maybe one day she'd find something worthy of her talents. But this would be good practice for her; from what she'd heard, Jedi General Anakin Skywalker was one of the few who could take her in a fight. That would certainly be fulfilling.

The thought made her smile as she activated her weapon and began to treat everyone in her path with the same way as she'd always treated them: faster than a hunting predator, she converged on her prey quickly and efficiently. Everyone she touched with her weapon fell in pain, forced to succumb to a slow, painful death, as she continued with her duty.

Perhaps the other her might have objected to such violence. But she was not in control at the moment. Besides, she'd never even remember what had happened when she came back. She never did. And she never would.

Wicura's cries of amusement and joy simultaneously mingled with the other cries of agonizingly slow pain in the night as the slaughter continued.

* * *

 _A/N: So we are introduced to other characters, now, which will play a bigger role later on. And we get to see more into Wicura and her character. She's definitely a dangerous and eerie character. Seriously, who else have you heard about who genuinely enjoys killing people without mercy?_

 _Please read and review!_


	4. Chapter 4: In a Friend's House

_A/N: Just so you know, I am going to stick with once-a-week updates, so I can get feedback about people's thoughts. I also just like making you bite your nails in anticipation. ;P_

 **Chapter 4: In a Friend's House**

Rebecca impatiently knocked on Dakota Farthing's door as the Republic agents waited outside with her. Why did everything important have to happen at night? And why did Dakota always choose to be asleep or unavailable or occupied with something whenever she needed her friend's help? This was becoming very frustrating for her.

Rebecca was about to break down the door when the light finally flicked on inside, and a very tired—not to mention annoyed—Dakota opened the door, her blond hair loose around her shoulders.

"Rebecca?" Dakota groaned as the realization hit her. "Why do you have to do this _every_ , _single_ time when I'm _trying_ to recover from work?" She rolled her eyes at the sky in irritated exasperation as she enunciated her words slowly and carefully. "What. Is. It. _This._ Time."

Rebecca took out the hologram of their old _friend_ and showed it to Dakota. Understanding and shock appeared in her eyes, and she briskly said, "Well, I guess you'd better come inside then." Quickly, the group entered Dakota's home and sat at the dining table.

Dakota had disappeared into one of the adjacent rooms, but her voice drifted out of it in apology.

"Sorry you have to wait while I get things organized in here. I'll be out in a minute." Rebecca and her new "allies" waited in silence until she decided to try to at least be courteous to them. They were allowed to be here, after all, and, if there was one thing she'd learned during her life, it's that starting things off on the wrong foot with a comrade tended to make situations worse.

"So, two Jedi and a clone; soldiers of the Galactic Republic. How's the War going for you?"

"Jedi aren't actually soldiers, ma'am," Anakin began, but Rebecca interrupted him.

"You guys are fighting in a galaxy-wide war as Generals and Commanders of the Republic. To me, that's being a soldier; there's no doubt about it."

"Alright, then, seeing as we're not going to change your opinion on things, why don't we ask you a question?"

Rebecca didn't see why not; after all, any information these people could get would be beneficial in finding Wicura. "Shoot."

"Why is Wicura so dangerous, specifically?"

Rebecca paused to consider her words carefully as images flitted through her mind: people being forced to suffer in horrible flames, and dead bodies strewn all over the ground around her, maniacal laughter chilling her bones.

Rebecca blocked those thoughts and answered slowly. "Wicura Strain was once a spy for the Kalifan Court of Justice. She was trained to get out of any situation if the opportunity arose. She's been trained in hand-to-hand combat, various weaponry, and…other things." A few hairs drifted in front of her eyes, and she impatiently pushed them back. "She was one of the best we had. But…something happened some years back on one of her assignments. When she got back, she didn't remember what had happened to her there, only that she'd been assigned to spy on the organization. Then, she began to get worse: disappearing to who-knows-where for long periods of time, failing to remember what had happened to her during those times, and becoming more anxious and fearful of things. Eventually, she was dismissed from her job due to inefficient activity."

"So, this is the first time since that you've heard of her?" Ahsoka inquired.

"No. Actually, about five years or so ago, she resurfaced and began to teach people about what she'd learned in her disappearances. She mostly taught young teenagers. It was…a type of cult, I guess." Rebecca's eyes narrowed. "Then, people started to complain about what was happening afterward. Nothing too serious; just trivial things, like finding their animals' throats slit after a new moon; propaganda about the glory of Wicura's "club;" property damage, and rumors of Wicura creating an army for conquering the system. Wicura was arrested and put on trial. First, she was just going to go to jail for conspiracy. Then, witnesses and holograms let something else come to light.

"It seemed that Wicura tended to act one way sometimes, and another way at other times. For instance, during her cult meetings and teachings, she would act like a brash, reckless, confident, and somewhat ruthless woman. But when she was doing regular things, like getting things from the marketplace, she'd become unsure, timid, and frightened. A full medical, psychological, and neurological investigation took place then. The results indicated that, during Wicura's amnesia-mission, she'd apparently been exposed to neurological chemicals that manipulated her one personality into two, creating a severely mentally unstable woman who could snap and go into a killing frenzy at any moment. Her more dominant personality seemed to be the one she had when she was running her cult, so she became a very dangerous threat to everyone and everything. She'd been declared clinically insane, and was sentenced to life in a prison asylum. However, nobody seemed to take her students into account.

"They began to riot, demanding the government release Wicura from their custody. They threatened to tear the planet apart if not. And since the government couldn't let someone as unstable as Wicura roam free, they began to hunt down the rioters and arrest them if they could. But those rioters literally wouldn't go down until death took them, so the government was forced to use…other means.

"During all this, Wicura broke out of prison and disappeared _again_. Nobody has seen or heard of her—"

"Until now." Dakota interrupted Rebecca as she entered the room they were gathered in, carrying various electrical devices in her hands. She laid them out on the table. "What do you need me to do about this?"

Rebecca answered, "We need to know any strange things that have happened in the last few days. Unexplained and eerie deaths, disappearances, you name it. Absolutely anything that screams the presence of a mentally unstable assassin."

Dakota nodded as she began to fire up her devices and work on them. "Got it, Commander Storm."

The clone, Captain Rex, turned his helmet to her. "You're a Commander?" He was obviously perplexed about how she'd gotten that position, considering her physical age.

"Not Commander of an army; we don't have that here on Kalifa. But, I do command a special-forces unit here." Rebecca tried not to sound too down-trodden about that. Training a black-ops unit was definitely not how she'd envisioned her dream job when she was younger, but she _was_ one of the best people around to do it. Besides, she lived by her duty to Kalifa, and if this was where her duty led her, then so be it. She'd caused enough problems living life on her own terms.

"What do you need a special-forces unit for?"

Rebecca paused to think over the answer as she leaned on the table towards the clone. "In case someone dangerous decides to set their sights on our planet and take it as their own. We don't need people like that here; they only look to cause trouble for everyone and everything. We've had a few close calls like that in recent years, and the government finally decided they weren't going to have it anymore. The Kalifan Special Forces was created to repel, neutralize, subdue, and, if push comes to shove, permanently eliminate any and all threats to our people."

"If it's so important, why are they letting a teenager oversee it?" He just _had_ to ask the hard question.

Rebecca was silent as images of her past flashed in her mind: firefights, friends walking away from her, and locking glowing blades with another girl with pain and hate in her eyes. "I proved my worth to Kalifa a long time ago; that's all you need to know."

"But, you're just a kid; what could you have possibly done that—"

Dakota interrupted Captain Rex. "Found something!"

"What is it, Dakota?" Rebecca inquired.

"Okay, well, a couple hours ago, there were reports of a strange fire being spotted somewhere in the west end of the woods. Then, there were other reports of awful screams being heard in the vicinity of where the fire had been reported. Some cops were dispatched to investigate, but neither the officers nor any civilians have returned since."

"That certainly does sound like Wicura. We'd better get on it right away." Rebecca and the Republic officers stood to leave.

"Hey, Rebecca, can you hold up for a second?" Dakota asked her, the unspoken remainder clear in her eyes. _Alone._

"Sure; can you guys please wait outside for a bit? I have to conduct some business with Dakota here." Rebecca casually told the two Jedi and clone officers. After a moment, they did just that, though seemingly reluctant to do so. As soon as the door closed, Dakota started talking again.

"Where's Ruchbah? He's always been around you lately; it's weird seeing you without him now." Rebecca paused as she thought of Ruchbah. He did always like being near her, especially lately, since he'd asked her his "little" question. Her hand automatically went to her neck, as it always did when she was nervous about something now.

"Ruchbah had other duties to attend to, since he's a Court Member and all."

"I see. So, Rebecca, we haven't really talked to each other for awhile. Every time I see you, you're always running off somewhere to do something. How have you been?" Concern was evident in her friend's tone.

Rebecca answered slowly and thoughtfully. "It's been alright; things have been a bit hectic. You know I recently toppled the last of Pyra's criminal organization a couple months ago, and I've been busy training the Kalifan Special Forces; you wouldn't believe how green they are compared to us."

"I meant how are you feeling about things? It's got to be rough on you these past few years, running all over the place for the government."

Rebecca shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I guess so."

Dakota frowned. "Rebecca, you and I both know that you feel more strongly than that about it. I thought we agreed to not lie to each other, and to always give it straight to one another."

"I remember."

"So…" Dakota crossed her arms. "Do you enjoy doing this, then, Rebecca? Are you sure it's what you want?"

Rebecca sadly looked away. "I don't exactly have a choice in the matter, Dakota. The government decides what I do or don't do now. That's it; end of story."

Dakota wouldn't give up, though. Why wouldn't she give up? Everyone else in her life already had. "Rebecca, you can't keep punishing yourself for what happened; it wasn't your fault."

Rebecca shook her head vehemently. "No, it was. If I'd paid more attention, or done something instead of nothing, then none of it would have happened." _And_ she _would still be here,_ Rebecca thought sadly and bitterly. "I don't deserve to dictate my own life anymore."

" _Amiga,_ if you keep thinking like that, every choice you make from now on will be filled with _nada_ but regret. I don't want you to be _infeliz_ anymore." Dakota spoke insistently to her friend.

"Dakota, it doesn't matter anymore. I've made up my mind; it's time you have, too." Rebecca started for the door, pushing the strands of hair in her face out of the way again. "My duty is my life now."

"And if your duty is wrong?" Dakota shot back. "What then? Will you keep doing what you're doing for your duty, even if you know it's not right? And if something happens because of that, like last time? What then? Where will your purpose be?"

Rebecca clenched the door handle angrily, forcing her hot tears back into her eyes. "It won't happen again. _Goodbye,_ _Dakota._ " She opened the door and stepped outside, shutting the door behind her. In her anger and pain, she didn't hear Dakota's last words.

"Sometimes, the only way the Force can get you to realize how to do the right thing is to bring about a terrible event you can't prevent, no matter what."

* * *

 _A/N: So, the drama decides to come to town, as well as the questions: What has Rebecca done (or not done) that makes her believe she shouldn't live life the way she wants to? What are Rebecca and Dakota's backstories? What's going to happen to Rebecca? And who the heck is this "Pyra" Rebecca mentioned? I promise, all questions will be answered in time. And yes, the official Kalifan language is our Spanish (Amiga=friend, nada=never, and infeliz=unhappy)._

 _Okay, I know what I said about the one-update-a-week thing, but you seriously SHOULDN'T EXPECT ANY UPDATES THE WEEK OF MARCH 20-27, 2016. I probably won't be able to do any updates then._

 _Until next time, PLEASE read and review!_


	5. Chapter 5: The Beginning

_A/N: Getting to do some detective work and bonding in this chapter. Hope you like it!_

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The Beginning**

"Well, this is the section of the forest Dakota said the strange disturbances came from," Rebecca Storm said to the Jedi and Captain Rex as they came upon burned, blackened trees, trampled plants and shrubbery, and, most gruesomely, the dead bodies of the people, either burned to death or dead from some sort of…something. Rex filed away the conditions of the Humans who met their deaths facing the mysterious adversary.

First of all, their eyes were wide open, filled with immense fear and pain. They all had burns and slashes all over their bodies. Though there was no blood, the true grimness of the event came with the prominent smell of burnt flesh. All in all, it was like the First Battle of Geonosis: nothing but death and destruction. Rex clenched his fist in memory of all the men who'd died that fateful day.

And it had all been for what? Yes, the Jedi were in trouble there, but they should have had a better strategy other than just running in there, guns blazing, shooting at anything mechanical. If they had just stopped to _think_ —

Rex immediately quashed that thought and shoved it to the back of his mind as Rebecca stooped down to study the ground. She slowly took off her right glove, tugging on her ring finger to make it come off, and gently touched the soil before straightening back up.

"Wicura was definitely here; she had a distinctive pattern like this when she ran her cult and they slaughtered animals at night."

"Well, where is she, then?" Ahsoka asked her. Rebecca frowned, pulling her brows together. She pointed at the ground as she answered.

"These footprints are Wicura's. See how they're curving in a definite path around the dead bodies? After she killed these people, she must have decided to leave so reinforcements couldn't catch her. But these tracks are fresh. I'm guessing she ran off about half a Galactic Standard hour before we got here. The prints indicate that she headed east, probably towards a town or city to blend in easily."

"Well, then we've got to hurry and catch her. We don't want her to get off planet to the Separatists." Anakin turned to his Padawan and Captain. "If this is going to work, we need to split up. Rex, go with Rebecca and follow those tracks. Ahsoka and I will try to cut off Wicura. With any luck, we'll meet at the same time and capture her."

"Right away, sir." Rex turned to Rebecca. "Shall we, Commander?" Rebecca nodded and they set off on Wicura's trail as Anakin and Ahsoka went off in another direction.

The pair walked in silence for a while, then Rebecca spoke. "You don't have to be so formal with me, you know. I'm not a Republic officer, and you have no reason to defer to me since I'm off duty right now."

"Ah, right. Sorry, it's just been drilled in my head to defer to those that outrank me. Should I call you by your last name?" Rex smiled behind his helmet at his feeble attempt to break the ice, but it seemed to work, as Rebecca lightly chuckled before answering with a soft smile.

"No, you can just call me Rebecca; everyone else does. Should I call you 'Rex' instead of 'Captain?' Her eyes sparkled a bit mischievously as she returned his joke. Rex suppressed the urge to chuckle.

"Yes, you may call me 'Rex' instead." They continued walking in comfortable silence until Rex had to ask. "Do you know what Wicura did to those people?"

Rebecca's eye twitched as her expression became pained. "Unfortunately, I do. She used a weapon she created herself based on the Zygerrian slavers' energy whips, except _her_ version doesn't just wound people, it slowly and painfully kills them."

Rex felt appalled. There could be no sense of honor for a person like that. "Why would she do that to people?" Rebecca turned her head to the side before answering.

"Her dominant personality enjoys seeing people in pain and suffering. I don't actually understand why someone would willingly enjoy that, but, when Wicura was in custody, she talked about how she was fascinated by how people acted in their last moments of life, because it apparently showed who they really were inside. She's obsessed with that kind of thing."

"I guess that's what happens when someone's mentally unstable, then." Rex's slightly comedic comment didn't lighten the mood this time. If anything, Rebecca seemed even sadder when he said that, her hand rising up to her neck to finger a thick, black, leather band with a small silvery crystal attached to it.

"I suppose so." They continued walking through the night, following Wicura's footprints. Rex's curiosity got the better of him again.

"How do you know Lyiknan?" Though it was an innocent enough question, Rebecca's posture tightened considerably, and Rex could practically _feel_ the tension radiating off the teenager beside him.

"I've known him for about two years now. He's one of the best scientists on the planet, you see, and because I'm the Commander of the Kalifan Special Forces, I need chemically enhanced solutions to use in weapons and gadgets, so I have to go to him to get that. After a while, we started going out for caf and food to talk in a less formal setting. He's a good friend." Even though Rebecca clearly didn't want to talk anymore, Rex just found he couldn't let it go. He'd become a little fascinated with how normal, not-cloned, not-Jedi people lived.

"And?"

Rebecca inhaled a little, and Rex swore he saw something that looked like tears in her eyes. She spoke so quietly he almost didn't catch it. "He proposed."

Rex was confused. What did she mean by proposed? Proposed what, exactly? Dinner, a holovid, new tactical strategies? Flash training never told him what people specifically meant by things like that.

"Proposed what?"

Rebecca closed her eyes and slowly exhaled before turning to Rex. "He asked me to marry him."

Rex was shocked. This girl was still a teenager; she was way too young for something like marriage! And Lyiknan was at least ten or fifteen years older than her. "What did you say?"

"What was I supposed to say, Rex?" Rebecca looked at the night sky with a pained look in her eyes. "He is a Court Member; he gets whatever he wants. Besides, I already knew about it beforehand because another Court Member told me about it, and he told me to say yes because it was a 'mutually beneficial arrangement.'" Rebecca made air quotes as she said that. "Ruchbah has always been hard for the rest of the Court to control, but now he won't be such a loose cannon and put Kalifa in jeopardy since he's marrying one of the government's favorites. He'll become more cooperative regarding political matters." She pointed to her necklace. "This jewel represents the joining of two people to achieve something greater that couldn't be done by themselves. This is good for everyone." There was silence afterward as the wind rustled her dark clothing.

"And what about you?" Rex asked. She obviously didn't actually like this arrangement, how could she go through with it? She had her whole life ahead of her, after all.

"I will follow my duty to wherever it takes me, Rex. If this is where my duty is, then so be it. It's better for everyone this way." Rebecca looked at the ground to distract herself with Wicura's footprints.

"But you don't get to choose things for yourself?" To Rex, it sounded like being a clone trooper. But she wasn't a clone; she was a mongrel who should be free to choose her own way in the galaxy.

"I'm afraid that's the way things work for those who've sworn themselves to a higher purpose: They don't get to choose, they just follow the orders of those who can."

"Oh." Rex could definitely sympathize with that. Soldiers were dying horribly every day in the war, and some Jedi didn't even care about it; just the victories for the Republic's advantage. It was a hard life, but it was the life of a clone soldier, and they had to make do with it.

Though Rex didn't expect her to, Rebecca started speaking again, but not about her. "So, how's life being a clone soldier serving the Republic? I've never met a clone before; we don't exactly 'do' cloning here."

Huh. Rebecca was probably the first person who wasn't a Jedi to ask him that. Civilians weren't exactly awful to clones concerning their treatment of them, but they just seemed to think they weren't even really people or they were superior since they'd been created by _unnatural methods_.

"Well, I was created nearly eleven years ago on the planet Kamino—"

"You're almost eleven? You look older than me! How did the Kaminoans make you older?" Rebecca interrupted. Rex continued on with his story.

"Accelerated aging; they grow and train us in half the time it normally takes. It's not a big deal," Rex shrugged his shoulders, "It's just what happens. Besides, clones don't usually last long, especially not in war." Rex kept himself from really voicing his thoughts about it seeming unfair and cruel to them, as though they deserved no other life (but what other life _could_ they have?), but Rebecca seemed to be disturbed enough by the small bit he'd given her. Her face filtered surprise across it, along with some other emotion Rex couldn't discern well enough.

"And what else?" Rebecca urged him to continue.

"We were all trained there since the time we could grasp a blaster to the time we shipped out to the First Battle of Geonosis. Then, we became the Grand Army of the Republic to take down the Separatists, our enemies and traitors to the Republic. The Jedi became our commanding officers, and we've been fighting with them since Geonosis."

"That's some story," Rebecca said, seeming to be done talking, which was fine with Rex. Then she asked him the inevitable. "But how do _you_ feel about things, specifically? How does being in a war like this one seem to you?"

Rex didn't want to tell her; he didn't want to risk any suspicions of insubordination. But he couldn't tell her that he thought everything was just fine the way things were now. He didn't think he could tell such an outright lie to her, even though he barely knew her. But what _could_ he say?

As he opened his mouth to answer her, an explosion just in front of them knocked him off his feet to the ground.

* * *

 _A/N: Just got back from a weekend trip to the Rock of Gibraltar! It was so cool (but very, very hot). But a word of advice: stay_ _away from the monkeys (macaques) or you will be accused of feeding them and be fined for around 700 or 800 euros. This experience, unfortunately, almost happened to me, because my family was taking a picture of a monkey that had jumped onto somebody's car and we took longer than five seconds taking the picture (camera phones these days). People can be so paranoid with their secret hidden cameras, but, oddly enough, we later saw someone cruising in his car casually throwing peanuts to the monkeys near the road (even though there were signs specifically saying to not do that), so I guess there's reason behind it. I wonder if he got caught?_

 _So there's a bit of a cliff hanger here now! I can be pretty good at those, if I do say so myself ;P_

 _I really wanted to show a process of Rex doubting what he's doing during the Clone Wars. We see it during the Umbara arc, but we don't really get into his head about it anywhere else, so I wanted to show that in this. Right now, he's having what are known as "beginning doubts" that will grow as time goes on and he matures more._

 _And in case you guys think Rebecca opening up to Rex is going a little too fast (they did meet, like, three hours ago), keep in mind that Rebecca has had all this pain inside her from her past, and the arranged marriage thing isn't the worst thing that's happened to her. Also, Rebecca's been going on like this for years, and she would have broken down and told anyone about her feelings concerning anything eventually, even some random homeless person she's never met before._

 _A mongrel is a term used in Star Wars books; it refers to people who have been randomly conceived rather than cloned._

 _This last part is totally off-topic, but I recently watched a_ Clone Wars _clip on Youtube where Barriss Offee confesses to the Temple bombing. Though it's a little bit hard to hear with the echo-y voices, Kevin Kiner's music was incredibly awesome in this. It was just so tragic-sounding during Barriss's speech, foreshadowing the awful things to come (though nobody but maybe Palpatine really knows it), it almost made me cry (even though he's no John Williams or Hans Zimmer, he does a great job in the_ Star Wars _TV series._ ) _My favorite part was when the camera went to Obi-Wan, Plo Koon, and Palpatine; the music there was the best, and Obi-Wan's expression and reaction to Barriss's speech (though extremely subtle) was great._

 _Please read and review!_


	6. Chapter 6: Confrontation

_A/N: This is the big confrontation against the menace that is Wicura Strain. Be prepared for…surprises._

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Confrontation**

Rex coughed as he got up from the ground, disoriented from the explosion. He looked around to see any threats, but all he saw was Rebecca knocked to the ground, unconscious. Then he heard an unforgettable laugh; a laugh that reeked of the owner's instability and made his blood run cold.

A woman stepped out of the shadows that matched the hologram of Wicura Strain he'd been studying: red hair and green eyes, but her timid expression was nowhere to be found, having been replaced by an unnaturally large grin and a look of bloodlust. His unsettled feeling of danger only grew at Strain's casual manner. She wasn't trying to kill them or do anything violent; she was just standing there. Something was wrong with this picture.

Strain flipped open a chrono and began to speak to him as though they were friends or colleagues meeting for caf. "I must say, I expected you to be about ten steps ahead of where you were when that bomb went off." Which was right about where the bomb had exploded. "You two are quite slow. No matter, I'm going to enjoy this. A LOT. It'll be nice to drop your carcasses at the feet of the Separatists when I deliver what I took from your precious Republic." Her voice dripped with sarcasm at the word "precious."

Rex grabbed his blasters and unleashed a volley of blasterfire at her, but she simply dodged underneath them or flipped over them with uncanny speed for a human, laughing all the way. She was like a Jedi, a thought that continued to raise the captain's internal alarm.

"Oh, such a simple and pathetic choice of weapon; it does no damage when you need it to!" Wicura brought out her own blaster, a small pistol that looked incapable of even killing a convor, and, before he had time to even blink, she'd fired two powerful blaster bolts with uncanny accuracy rivaling that of a clone's, knocking his pistols out of his hands.

Strain laughed savagely. "And that is how you make someone fear you: be better than them in any possible way. Tell me, clone, do you fear me now?"

Though shocked, Rex was not above giving her the pleasure of being right. "Not at all, _aruetii_. You've betrayed the Republic and will pay for it." This statement only earned a chuckle from her.

"Spoken like a true flesh droid. That's always the problem with your kind; you never know how to think for yourself because of your programming. That's why we Kalifans don't use them; they're dishonorable to have. Soldiers should know how to discern right from wrong."

Rex felt his shock boil over into anger. "I'm no clanker," he spat back at her as she began to walk towards him. "And I _am_ doing the right thing in taking you out." This person was going to pay for all that she'd done, and he would be the one to do it. The fact that she also like bad-mouthing clones was just the icing on the cake.

He lunged for his blasters, but Strain tackled him and knocked him to the ground on his stomach, knocking his helmet off. She pinned Rex's arms behind him as she leaned down. "Oh, really?" she cackled, her mouth close to his ear. "Then I'll be doing myself a favor by killing you and your Jedi. Oh, and your _friend_ over there."

Though Rex's face was almost smushed in the ground, he lifted his head just slightly to shift his gaze to Rebecca, who was still unconscious. Strain pushed his head down again as she continued.

"Oh, yes, she's your ally _now_ , but she won't be forever. If you knew what she's done, you'd be running from her before you could say _death_. Underneath that pretty face lies a dark, twisted, evil person, who will kill you without a second thought if you do something she doesn't like. She is not to be trusted, _droid_ , no matter what you think," purred Strain in Rex's ear. "Her kind never are." She suddenly laughed. "Oh, wait, I _am_ one of her kind, so I guess you shouldn't trust me either. Too bad you won't live long enough to know that." Rex mentally classified this woman under the _insanity_ file at her words. She was a Separatist spy; she couldn't be taken seriously.

Her nails dug into his gloved hands as she spoke, as though she were getting more agitated, even though she seemed to be having the time of her life. "And if you're hoping for a quick death, then I have news for you: I enjoy giving people slow deaths. Bad news for you." Rex tried to get away from her, but she was very strong and kept him pinned down. Then suddenly, she flew back about ten feet from him, hitting the ground hard as she grunted from the impact.

Rex then heard the unmistakable sound of two lightsabers igniting as he quickly got up and put his helmet on. He turned to see General Skywalker and Ahsoka running toward Strain. He couldn't help but feel relieved as he went for his blasters again. Now that the Jedi were here, Strain could be captured, and this nightmare could be over.

However, the spy obviously felt differently. She sprang back onto her feet with an angry look on her face and shot her blaster at the Jedi, though they easily deflected the shots.

"It's over, Strain! You are coming with us!" Skywalker yelled to her.

Strain hissed with retaliation. "It's not over until I say it is!" She reached into her jacket and pulled out something that looked like a lightsaber hilt. She hit the switch on it, and the hilt sprouted a black flexible energy whip, crackling with electricity.

In a flash, Rex remembered what Rebecca had told him about Strain's chosen weapon.

 _It doesn't just wound people, it slowly and painfully kills them._

"Drop your weapons!" Rex cried at Strain as he leveled his blasters at her. She turned her head his way, and twisted her lips into a psychotic grin.

"No." In a flash, Strain went into action. She leapt at the Jedi as they backed away, their lightsabers held in front of them defensively. She lashed out with her whip, and, though they tried to deflect it, it wrapped around Skywalker's lightsaber and pulled it out of his grasp, flinging it far away. Ahsoka tried to jump out of the way, but the same thing happened to her lightsaber.

Skywalker and Ahsoka then tried to Force-push Strain back, but she just laughed and came closer. "I've learned how to counteract with the ways of Force-users in my time, _Jedi_. You cannot escape from me or this weapon."

Strain deactivated her whip and ran at the two Jedi again. They set themselves up to fight hand-to-hand, but the spy was too fast and punched out Ahsoka. Then, Skywalker tried to knock out Strain, but even he couldn't deal with her acrobatic kicks and blows as they landed on him again and again, causing bruises and bleeding cuts to form on his face. One last kick at his head finally knocked him down, and he lay on the ground unconscious.

Rex was stunned. If this person could take out not just one, but two Jedi with hardly any injuries, then she was very dangerous indeed. He knew now why the Kalifans he'd met were so wary of Wicura Strain's presence: she could take down anyone and anything, even the seemingly invincible. He shot at Strain while her back was turned, but she just dodged his shots as she brought out her whip again. She lashed at him, and her whip wrapped itself around his wrists, burning through the material there, causing him to drop his blasters from the immobilization and searing pain.

 _It slowly and painfully kills._

He couldn't keep himself from crying out in pain as the whip burned him as though it was made of fire. Smiling, Strain pulled her whip towards her, dragging the clone captain along the ground. Rex tried to pull back and dig his heels into the ground, but the pain in his wrists made it hard to gather enough strength to break free. She pulled him closer and closer, and when he was close enough, she grabbed him by an arm and threw him next to the unconscious and beaten Jedi as she also kicked at his head. Though the helmet protected him a little, his weakened and pained state only made him more susceptible, causing him to see a darkness on the edge of his vision. Strain laughed savagely at her triumph, knowing she had won.

"I guess it's time for you to die now, Republic scum. Say hi to death for me; I don't plan on going _there_ for a long time." She readied her whip and raised her arm, preparing to strike them all. Rex was still too weak to do anything else but watch. Then she paused for a moment. "But do tell, flesh-droid: Do you fear death? Do you fear that dark abyss?"

"Do you?"

As the second voice spoke, the silver light of a lightsaber blade pierced Strain's chest as she cried out in pain and surprise. The crazed light in her eyes died, replaced by an uncertain look full of pain, and she spoke her last surprising words before she fell to the ground.

"What—what just happened?" She crumpled to the ground, her eyes then sightless, seeing nothing, revealing the form of her killer: Rebecca Storm, holding a lightsaber, with a look Rex never expected to see. Her expression was nothing but shock, pain, and shame. Rex tried to say something or get up, but the darkness on the edge of his vision came and took him away, leaving him with Rebecca's expression seared in his mind.

* * *

 _A/N: So, that's the end of Wicura Strain. Kind of a bummer, but it had to happen. I just couldn't let a serial killer run all over the place killing everyone forever; that's just not done in my book._

 _Aruetii is Mandalorian for traitor._

 _And if you're worried that this means this fiction is almost over, don't worry; it's just beginning now. (Bwahaha!)_

 _Please read and review!_

 _P.S. For those who can tell me where the words Wicura and Rebecca spoke at the end came from, I'll give you a sneak preview of the next chapter._


	7. Chapter 7: Healing

_A/N: First part is chapter 6 from Rebecca's POV. Seeing as how she was knocked unconscious for a lot of it, it's going to be short. P.S. The question about the quotes from last week's chapter is from_ Pirates of the Caribbean _. Davy Jones enjoys saying the lines Wicura uttered, and Jack Sparrow asked Davy Jones Rebecca's question as he held Jones' beating heart in his hand._

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Healing**

Rebecca Storm stirred, slowly opening her eyes as she blinked twice. She grunted a little as she sat up slowly, trying to figure out what had just happened. The last thing she could remember was hearing a blast, as though a bomb had gone off, and flying through the air. Then…nothing.

Rebecca's gaze on the ground swung to two GAR-issue blaster pistols nearby. Still disoriented, it took a few seconds before it finally clicked.

 _Rex's pistols._

Her world came crashing down on her as she fully remembered what had happened before the blast. As she did, she registered sounds coming from in front of her. Her gaze looked up as she saw the back of Wicura Strain, and her heart sank as she also saw the incapacitated Jedi and clone captain in front of Wicura. She was laughing and talking in that weird way of hers, always going on and on about nonsense, making these unnecessary speeches about trivial things. She held her whip in her right hand. As Rebecca watched, Wicura's right hand came up, and she realized then what was about to happen.

She was going to kill them. She was going to kill people that hadn't deserved it, who hadn't done anything other than having the bad luck to go up against Wicura when they had no idea who she really was, what she was truly capable of.

Rebecca couldn't let it happen. She _couldn't_. Not after last time.

In a millisecond, Rebecca was on her feet and leaping forward to Wicura, her hand going for her own weapon of choice. She lit the lightsaber and, as Wicura said, "Do you fear that dark abyss?" Rebecca answered before she had time to even think about it.

"Do you?" She plunged her silver blade into Wicura's back, and, as the insane woman screamed, Rebecca suddenly wasn't there anymore. Her surroundings turned to lava and ash, and the person she'd just stabbed was a Human girl of seventeen, with dark hair and hating eyes, surprised that she'd been beaten; that Rebecca Storm, of all people, had finally done what she'd just been taunting her about being unable to do.

"What—what just happened?" Rebecca registered the words as she came back to the present, watching Wicura Strain fall to the ground like a rock.

What had _she_ done? AGAIN.

* * *

Rex began to come out of the darkness that had claimed him before, registering sounds and sights. He first heard the rustling of clothing, and of someone moving around before the footsteps quieted. He slowly opened his eyes, grunting and quickly closing them again from the sudden brightness from above. He was on a bed, it seemed, though not a comfortable one. He opened his eyes again, turning his head to keep from being blinded.

As his sight adjusted, he saw that he was in a medbay, or maybe a hospital. Everything was white. It reminded him of Kamino, where everything was also absolutely white. But this room wasn't quite as shiny as Kamino. He also realized that the armor on his upper body had been stripped, leaving just his bodysuit covering his arms and chest.

Rex quickly sat up, and immediately regretted it. His entire body argued against the movement, erupting in fiery pain. Slowly, so as to not cause any more discomfort, he brought up his arms and looked at his hands, uncomprehending for a moment. Why were his wrists covered in bandages? What had happened?

Rex thought back to the last thing he remembered before blacking out. A teenaged Human girl, looking no older than eighteen standard years, stood over him, with a pained expression on her face. A silver lightsaber burned in her hand—

And the clone captain finally remembered: Wicura Strain, Kalifa, Rebecca Storm, dead bodies either burned to a crisp or slashed up as though an animal had attacked them.

And Wicura had wrapped her death-whip around his wrists, burning them. He looked back at his hands. Though his wrists were bandaged, he could still see the blood that had soaked into them. They still hurt, but compared to how they'd first felt, the difference was relieving.

But where were General Skywalker and Ahsoka?

Rex looked up as the door to the room slid open and Rebecca stepped into the room, no trace of the painful expression he'd last seen her with. She carried a datapad in one hand and made straight for the clone, stopping at his bedside.

"How are you feeling, Captain?"

"I feel fine, thank you." He answered, too worried about what might have happened to the Jedi officers to tell the truth. "Where are the Jedi, Rebecca?"

Rebecca looked as if she'd been anticipating his question, answering, "They're fine, they're just recovering in a separate room here."

"And where exactly is 'here?'"

"In the hospital in the Kalifan capital, of course. I called in an evac for you guys; none of you looked too good."

"And Wicura Strain?" Rex was pretty sure he knew the answer as Rebecca's eyes flicked with sadness.

"Dead." She said as she hurriedly tapped away on her 'pad, as though she were trying to say, "Busy here; can't talk now."

"You killed her." Rex said, remembering the silver blade impaling Strain. Rebecca's posture tightened further, and her lips pressed into a thin line.

"I did."

"Why?" Rex remembered her painful look after she'd killed Strain. She'd seemed to regret killing Strain, judging from her expression then. "You could have just stunned her and brought her in."

Rebecca paused, her brow furrowing as she thought about it.

"I did it because I was going on instinct by then. When I saw her about to kill you, I reacted before I thought. And my reaction was to kill."

"Your reaction…is that how you always react to things like that?"

Rebecca's eyes flickered with pain. "Unfortunately, yes, it is. Believe it or not, that's not the first time I've had to do something like that before."

"But…you're just a kid." Rex always had thought that normal mongrels wouldn't have to deal with things like that since it wasn't their duty to.

Rebecca looked up, anger smoldering in her eyes. "I'm not that young, Rex. I'm nineteen years old. Technically, I'm an adult now."

Rex rushed to apologize for making her angry. "I didn't mean to offend, I just…I never knew that mongrels go through that."

Rebecca's eyes softened as she sighed tiredly. "No, I guess you don't. You've been stuck in the same place, doing the same thing for most of your life. It's simple for you. All you have to do is follow the orders of your generals. But, for people like me, it's never simple. Sometimes things happen, and people change and disappoint us. Then all we have to rely on are ourselves and our training; that's all we can trust. But sometimes it's not good to rely on ourselves like that. Sometimes…" Rebecca looked away as her voice quieted so Rex had to lean forward to hear her. "Sometimes we make mistakes, and others end up paying for it with their lives."

Rex wasn't sure what to say to something like that, but he felt he had to answer with _something_.

"I'm sorry."

Rebecca sighed again. "Don't be sorry, Rex; I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't try to keep Wicura alive, I just reacted and ended up killing her."

That particular conversation seemed to be over, and Rex turned his attention back to his wrists. He tried to roll them around, but was rewarded with pain again. He flinched, and Rebecca focused on him once more.

"You sure you're okay, Rex?"

"I'm fine," Rex spoke through gritted teeth. Rebecca shook her head.

"I don't think you're okay. Come on, let's take a look at those."

She held her hand out and took the captain's own hands. Slowly, Rebecca unwrapped the bandages, and Rex braced himself for the worst.

His wrists were horribly burned and scarred from Wicura's whip, the dried blood clotting the wounds, thankfully. Rebecca slowly turned his hands around, careful to not cause any pain. Rex could see the girl mulling over something, and she quickly straightened up again.

"Hold your wrists right there; don't move them. I'll be right back." Rebecca quickly left the room, leaving Rex to keep holding up his wounded wrists as though he were about to be cuffed. A few minutes later, she returned, holding, not painkillers or bacta, but simply a glass of water.

Rex snorted. "How exactly is water going to help me with these?" What was going on in that girl's head?

Rebecca rolled her eyes, and came to his bedside again. "You'll see. Just don't freak out."

Don't freak out over a glass of water? What was _that_ supposed to mean?

Rex soon found out. As he watched Rebecca, she waved her hand over the water, and the liquid responded by rising out of the glass, elongating into a vague circle shape. Rebecca set down the glass, and set one hand underneath the hovering water. She then passed her other hand over the water, making a trail to Rex's wrists, which the water followed, snaking out of the ball in a thin line, and surrounded Rex's injured wrists. Concentrating, Rebecca hovered her hand over Rex's wrists, and curled her fingers in. The water, in response, began to glow with a whitish-silver light and touched his wrists. Rex jerked, but didn't do anything else as the water flowed around and over his wrists, seeming to dissolve as he watched. Then, his wrists seemed to absorb the water, and it finally disappeared.

Rex stared at his wrists, slowly turning them, surprisingly feeling no pain. But that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was that his wrists were completely healed with no trace of them having ever been injured in the first place. How could this be? A minute a go his wrists looked ready to be amputated. But now…

Rex finally spoke, stuttering a little. "H-how can this be? How did you do that?"

Rebecca answered with simply, "Call it an old Kalifan medicine trick from back in the day. Are you satisfied with how it turned out?"

"Um…yes. Yes, I am. Thank you." The captain had a feeling there was more to it than Rebecca said, but he wasn't about to question it.

Rebecca picked up her datapad and tapped on it again. "Your friends are awake and recovered now. Would you like me to take you to them?"

"…Yes."

"Alright, but you've got to put on your armor first." Rebecca set Rex's upper body plates and gauntlets on the bed, and Rex strapped on his armor. He got to his feet, noticing how he didn't feel any pain from moving anymore, and looked for his bucket.

"I've got it, Rex." Rebecca magically pulled Rex's helmet out from behind her back, looking just as it had before. She flipped the helmet to face her. "These are Mandalorian jaig eyes, aren't they?"

"Yes; they stand for an act of bravery and honor."

"That's good."

It certainly was. Those eyes reminded him of his duty to the GAR; he wasn't sure what he'd do without that reminder.

* * *

 _A/N: I hope you like this chapter, and PLEASE read and review! I need encouragement to keep going!_

 _P.S. I got the idea of the water healing from Nickelodeon's_ Avatar: The Last Airbender _series. It was actually a pretty good show (I only wish its successor had been that good)._


	8. Chapter 8: The Deal

_A/N: I'm thinking about doing one update every two weeks now, so don't be surprised if I don't update every week. Enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

 **Chapter 8: The Deal**

Rebecca led Rex through a series of corridors and rooms for several minutes. As they walked, Rebecca could sense Rex's slight apprehension towards her, no doubt caused from her healing abilities. It was natural for someone unaffiliated with her people to react that way; she couldn't really blame him for being suspicious. After all, most people were generally afraid of what they didn't understand, like the Jedi, or the Force, or generally all of the strange, mystical things of the galaxy they hadn't been exposed to before.

She could tell the clone captain didn't deal in mystical things too often. As she'd healed him, she could sense his surprise, astonishment, and even fear at her ability. Probably the closest he'd ever gotten to mysticism before was watching his Jedi commanders use their abilities during a battle. This had to be a whole other territory for him to find out about.

Because she wasn't like the Jedi. Far from it, actually. She knew the truth about herself, but no outsiders like these Republic soldiers did. Only a select few Kalifans, like Ryuchbah and Dakota, along with the Kalifan Court, knew the truth, and knew what she was truly capable of. And she knew she couldn't very well tell this clone. Though he seemed like a decent enough guy, he was a virtual stranger to her, and chances were they'd never see each other again after he and the Jedi left the planet. Yes, she'd told him about her arranged marriage with Ryuchbah, but that was in a moment of weakness and a need to tell someone, anyone, the truth about _something_ for once. It wouldn't happen again.

If he knew the rest of the truth, he would hate and fear her. She could sense it.

Finally, the two reached the room keeping the Jedi. Rebecca opened the door to reveal the Human and Togruta Jedi resting on their cots. Rex immediately went to their sides, and Anakin opened his eyes, smiling crookedly at his captain.

"Hey Rex, good to see you."

"Likewise, sir. How are you feeling?"

"Like I went toe-to-toe with Dooku again, but Snips and I'll be fine."

Before any more could be said, Rebecca's comlink chirped. She turned it on to reveal the irritated holographic form of Scales Daladob. She couldn't help but feel resentful towards the light-haired Human. This was the guy who'd told her to accept Ryuchbah's marriage proposal, after all. And he'd always seemed full of himself to her, a trait she did not envy in the least.

" _Commander Storm, where are you?"_ Scales' irate voice sounded from the hologram.

"I'm with the Jedi and the clone, Scales."

" _The Kalifan Court of Justice has called for you to come before them. Get to the main building now."_ He seemed to always take pleasure in telling her what to do, since he was on the Court and she was just a lowly underling to him.

Rebecca fought the urge to roll her eyes at this guy, and stayed in a physically calm posture.

"On my way, sir." She shut off her comlink and turned to the Jedi and Rex. "I'm sorry, but I have to go. I've been called to go in front of the Court. I'll be back when I can."

Anakin nodded understandingly. "It's fine; we'll be alright. You just go."

Rebecca nodded at him and Rex, started to leave, then turned back. "Get well soon." She was out the door before either had a chance to answer.

She felt somewhat responsible for their injuries. She knew that Wicura was a crafty person; she should have been on her guard more. She should have realized that there was going to be a bomb. Yes, nothing could be changed now, but she just wished that she hadn't been knocked unconscious. Then maybe the Jedi and the clone captain wouldn't have been hurt so badly.

Quickly, Rebecca navigated her way out of the medbay and into the heart of the Kalifan capital, Masato City. It was a normal time for the citizens: bustling about to get to work, stopping every now and then to inspect the various stands that had been set up in anticipation for the Karushi Festival, which would begin in a few hours.

The Karushi Festival was a time to celebrate the concept of friends and families, in which people could participate in symbolic dances, stories of Kalifan myths about friends and families, and the big parade in which everyone wore colorful costumes, dancing to the rhythm of whatever music was playing at the time. But the one thing people seemed to look forward to the most was the lake lanterns lighting.

During sunset, the lake by the city would be surrounded by hundreds of people (mostly sweetheart couples). The couples would then light a homemade lantern together and place it on the lake. Though it was a silly tradition, mainly for entertainment, it was a popular superstition. If a couple's lantern sank, then it was believed that their relationship was doomed. But if a couple's lantern stayed afloat, their love would last forever. Or so it was supposed to go.

A silly tradition, but a popular superstition.

 _Superstitions are just that—superstitions. A person's destiny is not controlled by who he or she meets at a certain time; destiny is controlled by only the person._ She couldn't believe that people could actually take those things seriously, but then, people were just plain weird sometimes. They were impossible to fully understand.

Rebecca wove through the crowds and finally emerged in front of the Kalifan Court of Justice Government and Society Building. It was a large, beautiful building. It was a stark white color, with a sloping circular roof held up by marble pillars. The floor was decorated with a tile work of the Kalifan symbol, a large dark _lobo_ with wings made of flames, similar to that of the mythical _fénix_ , wearing a white collar with a black gem dangling from it, signifying the conquering of its enemies through severe justice. But Rebecca's favorite part of the building was the history room.

The history room wasn't a room, exactly; it was a series of rooms, all of which functioned as a way to tell the history of a particular era in Kalifan time. Through holograms and text, the history of the planet could be easily gleaned from these rooms. The rooms were all square and small, with only room enough for a few people at a time, and they always shone in a bronze color. They were beautiful, but Rebecca loved them because of carvings of the most important event of an era on the walls of the rooms. They were beautiful, but also sad, as they often showed the worst-made mistakes ever made on the planet.

Rebecca climbed the stairs to the Court Room and opened the door, revealing the large room, with the Court Members sitting at their places at the elevated rectangular table, deliberately made to intimidate the people below.

There were five Court Members, all of which were very important and powerful people. From the left to right were the faces of red-haired, blue-eyed Radinko Kadusky (occupation: Poverty Control Analyst), the dark eyes and hair of Conodia Rave (occupation: Criminal Psychologist), the black hair and topaz eyes of Alexander Nyon (occupation: formerly the Commander of the Kalifan Special Forces; now Public Motivator), light-haired green-eyed Scales Daladob (occupation: Minerals Doctor), and the black hair and brown eyes of Ryuchbah Lyiknan (occupation: Chemical Scientist).

They silently watched as Rebecca stepped in the middle of the room. For a few minutes, no one spoke. Then the voice of Alexander Nyon filled the room.

"Commander Storm, do you know why you are here?"

Rebecca took a deep breath. "No, Court Member Nyon, I don't. All I know is that you wanted to see me." She tried not to think about what that reason might be. A person was only called before the Court when something serious was happening. Alexander soon answered her unspoken question.

"It has come to the Court's attention that, ever since the Clone War has started, our ways have been increasingly looked down upon by the Republic, and they have become suspicious that we would seek to join the Confederacy of Independent Systems one day. However, they are mistaken." The members of the Court nodded in agreement as Alexander continued. "Kalifa will always be loyal to the Republic, and we need to reaffirm that. The fact that one of our own killed the Separatist spy Wicura Strain is sure to generate some positivity in the Senate, but it won't be enough. We need to completely assure them of our intentions."

"And how would that happen, Court Member Nyon?" Rebecca honestly didn't know how they'd go about doing this, unless they wanted the Republic to use the Kalifan Special Forces.

Scales spoke up. "After intense debate, Commander, we have come to our conclusion. For at least two years, we will be giving the Republic the military uses of you, Commander Storm. You belong to the Republic now."

Rebecca crinkled her brow. Her. In a war. Somehow, she didn't think the ramifications of that decision would be good. "Me." Her voice sounded hollow as she spoke. "Working for the Republic for the next two years."

Alexander nodded. "Yes, Commander. You are the best Kalifa has to offer, and you are familiar with the concept of war, unlike the recruits you are training. The Republic will be glad to have you. We've already squared things with the Supreme Chancellor Palpatine."

Rebecca's mouth went dry. "When do I leave?" Her mouth seemed to have gained a mind of its own by this point, talking automatically.

"You'll be leaving with the Republic soldiers as soon as they recover."

"And who would train the Kalifan Special Forces while I'm in the war, Court Member?" Rebecca wanted to find a reason, _any_ reason, to not get mixed up in another war. The first one still gave her nightmares, even more than three years after its end.

"We're bringing in your old colleague, Dakota Farthing. She'll put the Special Forces to good use. After all, she did train with you, remember? She's the next best thing." Alexander always had an answer for everything.

Everything within Rebecca cried that she shouldn't do this; she should just say "no" and walk away. But she knew she couldn't. She never could. Not after what happened during the war. Not after what she'd done. Not after the lengths she didn't know she could go to. She couldn't trust her own choices now. They were too dark, and all her choices ever seemed to do was hurt more people.

"Alright. I'll go fight with the Republic. But what will happen after the two years are up?"

"That will be decided when your term of service is over," was all Alexander mysteriously said. "Meeting adjourned. You are dismissed, Commander Storm."

Rebecca nodded and left the room, going down the stairs and exiting the building. She could see that the suns were about to set. It was always beautiful to watch, but now it was just a bittersweet memory. The last time she had truly enjoyed a sunset was over six years ago, when she had been an early teenager, and things were simple. A time when friends stayed friends, and there was no conflict.

Her sister, Violet, had always loved the sunsets. _"A sunset has a natural beauty, and it symbolizes new beginnings and endings for all of us,"_ she'd always say with a chuckle. _"There's nothing bad about a sunset; the sun will always come back,"_ she'd say to Rebecca soothingly when she was young and afraid of the dark, wrapping an arm around her to comfort the younger girl. _"Though it may seem like there's no hope at times, the sun will always remind us that there is always going to be hope, no matter what any of us think. Hope is something that can never die; yes, it may be frail at times, but it will still always be there, somewhere,"_ she'd always say to Rebecca when they talked about crimes that had been committed throughout history.

Now that hope was gone.

* * *

"Rebecca!" Rebecca's head shot up and looked around for the owner of the voice. She turned and saw Ryuchbah, her fiancée. She smiled warmly at him.

"Hey, Ryuchbah." She patted the seat next to her on the stone bench she was sitting on, which she had found a few minutes ago overlooking the glimmering blue lake, which was now clustered with couples waiting with their lanterns. The suns were just touching the horizons now.

"So, how's my future bride today?" Ryuchbah spoke teasingly as he sat, shooting a grin in Rebecca's direction. She couldn't help but laugh at the name, though it was bittersweet.

 _I don't love him, but I have to marry him for the sake of my duty to my people._

She told herself that every time she saw him, every time she touched her engagement necklace. She was so caught up in thinking that all the time, that she didn't even think to wonder what kind of pain Ryuchbah would be in if he knew the truth about her feelings.

"Honestly, Ryuchbah, I feel a little…" Rebecca paused as she searched for the right word, "…conflicted. I mean, I know that fighting for the Republic will help Kalifa, but I also remember the last war I was in, and we both know it didn't exactly end well." She tried not to tear up as she remembered _how_ it had ended.

Ryuchbah slung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "I know that the last war was hard on you," he spoke soothingly to her. "But you swore an oath to Kalifa, an oath that can only be broken if the Court relieves you of your service. Everything that's been done has been done for a reason. Besides, I think it might be good for you. You could see how things outside Kalifa have been getting along." He smiled comfortingly at his fiancée. "Everything will be fine." His smile grew. "And just think, when this war is all over, we can finally get married and be together."

Rebecca smiled slightly. "Yeah, that'll be nice." Not for her, it wouldn't be.

Ryuchbah, content that they had this issue resolved, sat back to watch the sunsets. He dipped his head at the lakeside couples. "Well, there go the superstitions over there. Always hoping that their lantern will float." Indeed, now that the suns were setting, the couples were starting to light their lanterns and place them on the lake's surface.

Rebecca looked curiously at the lanterns. They were small, with only room for one small candle on a dish (as were the unofficial guidelines for the lantern's structure). They were covered with various types of sealants and other things that were thought to keep the lanterns afloat. Several were covered in paper that had been glued to the candle and dish, with only a small hole for the flame. Those sunk to the bottom of the lake. The owners of those lanterns exchanged fearful glances at what it might mean for them.

Rebecca shook her head. The lantern lighting was always such a pointless thing to do. When would people realize that?

* * *

A few days later, Rebecca stood with the Jedi and clone captain, looking at the _Twilight_. She hadn't gotten a good glimpse of it the first time she saw it. Now she saw that it looked like a hunk of junk. But she wasn't going to say anything; she didn't want to risk imbuing the wrath of Anakin, who seemed pretty proud of it. Right now, he was tinkering around underneath the ship, trying to get it to work right.

"All right, I think that's it. We're ready to go." He crawled out from underneath the ship and extended a hand to Rebecca. "Welcome to the Republic, Commander Storm. We're happy to have you."

"Likewise, General Skywalker." Rebecca kept her tone light as she shook his hand, even though her heart was hammering into her ribcage. She walked up the ramp with Captain Rex, after waiting for the Jedi to enter, and wondered just how long she'd last out there.

* * *

 _A/N: Though it probably seems like things surrounding Rebecca are kind of vague right now, we will get into her full backstory one day, and I really hope you'll be intrigued by it and her choices back then._

 _Masato is a Japanese name that means justice, FYI. Since it has the Kalifan Court of Justice in it, and all, I wanted to show that in the name._

 _Lobo means wolf, and f_ _énix means phoenix (that legendary fire bird)._

 _I also wanted to get across Ryuchbah's character in this chapter. He's not a bad guy for having an arranged marriage; the thing is, he doesn't actually_ know _that it's an arranged marriage. He really believes that Rebecca loves him as much as he loves her, which is a lot. Which could also lead to problems one day, but that's still unclear…_

 _Please read and review! I enjoy feedback! (For some reason nobody cares enough to even say if they like this or not, which can get kind of frustrating after a while. I can't make this better if nobody says anything, after all.)_


	9. Chapter 9: Folinoe

_A/N: I regret to inform you all that this may be my last chapter before I stop updating for the months of May, June, July, and August. I'll just have too much going on then. So this is sort of a farewell chapter. P.S. I really hope you like my descriptions of Rebecca's more flexible abilities._

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Folinoe**

 _22 BBY (1.5 months later)_

Rebecca Storm raised her binoculars to her eyes, training her vision on the horizon. There her target resided: the main Separatist center on Folinoe, a planet known for churning out commando droids like they were ration cubes. Her mission: to find out their strategies and defenses, so she could give the information to the Republic, and they could come to take over the planet.

She lowered the binoculars and smiled grimly. When she'd been given this mission, she had detected the implications of what could happen. If she was discovered or captured, she would be on her own. If she died in the process of obtaining the information, it meant nothing to the Republic. She was only one person; she was highly expendable. A Jedi could have just as easily been assigned for this instead of her.

To the Republic, she basically _was_ a Jedi, anyway. Or, rather, a variation of one. She had the lightsaber, and that was all that mattered to most people.

She slipped her binoculars into one of her belt pouches, and tugged the hood of her gray cloak over her head as she ventured deeper into the woods. She easily scaled a nearby tree, pulling herself onto a sturdy branch close to the ground and climbing higher until she was well-hidden in the leaves. Then, she readied herself, and jumped into a neighboring tree, catching a branch and pulling herself up, only to repeat this process several more times with several other trees as she journeyed closer to her target.

Finally, she reached the building: a huge, dark gray rectangular building about thirteen stories high, littered with droid patrols, which consisted of both regular battle droids and super battle droids, protecting the building from being infiltrated. Because Rebecca had taken the time to conceal herself so well in the nearby trees, they failed to notice her presence. She smiled to herself. Sometimes, it was so easy to get past these droids going in; they tended to be extremely dimwitted.

She flipped her hood off, took out her binoculars again, and studied the center. Now that she was closer, Rebecca was now able to scrutinize the building, checking for ventilation shafts, hidden passages, unprotected doors, anything that she could use to slip into the building undetected. Her gaze roved over the droid patrols, past the windowless walls, and…there! About two meters up from the ground, a small grate covered an opening in the south wall.

She continued to stare at it through her binoculars as she weighed the pros and cons. On one hand, the opening led directly into the building. On the other hand, it was right above the droids in broad daylight, and she wasn't even sure if she could squeeze her way into it. But, she also didn't see another way of getting in. She'd just have to adapt to the situation.

Carefully, Rebecca lowered herself onto the branch below her. Looking at the ground, she spied a small rock near the droids. Stretching out her hand, she waved it to the corner of the south wall, and the rock followed.

As soon as it started moving, the nearest droid swiveled its head around as the rock passed it.

"What was that?"

Beckoning the rest of its patrol, the droid led the patrol to the corner and around out of sight, following the path of the rock.

Rebecca knew she only had about a minute before another patrol rounded the corner and took the other patrol's place. She'd have to act fast. Quickly, Rebecca leaped out of the tree, silently landing below the covered opening, pressing herself to the wall. Using the Force, she carefully, but quickly, levitated the grate in the air. Concentrating on not letting the grate drop, she jumped up and grabbed the bottom of the opening. As she pulled herself up, she heard the sound of droid feet steadily coming closer to her. She quickly surveyed the opening. It was lucky she was in such good shape; if she was any heavier she wouldn't be able to fit. Quickly, but quietly, she kicked off with her foot and hauled herself into the opening, gripping the insides as she pulled herself in. Just as the droids rounded the corner, she quietly replaced the grate behind her with the Force, as there was barely enough room for her to fit, let alone turn around.

As she began to crawl into the building, she heard a droid outside start speaking to another.

"Did you hear something?"

"Negative; your hearing sensors must be malfunctioning."

Rebecca shook her head as she continued her mission. Droids!

She continued to squeeze her way through the shaft until it ended at another grate. Looking into it, Rebecca saw a corridor that was currently deserted. Quietly she removed the grate and dropped down from the ceiling, landing softly on her feet.

Moving quickly, she snuck along the corridor until she spotted a control panel. Then, bringing out a small dagger concealed in her belt, she jimmied open the panel, setting the top of it beside her. She reached into her cloak and grabbed a small 'pad. On the bottom, she unhooked a cord and plugged it into the control panel. A hologram appeared above her datapad, showing the schematics of the center as a map. She saved it and replaced her datapad just as she heard mechanical footsteps coming towards her in the corridor, causing her to look up in alarm.

Heart pounding from adrenaline, Rebecca replaced the top of the panel, melting it shut with a handheld flame welder as the footsteps grew louder. Then she heard more footsteps coming from the opposite direction. She looked around, seeing everything in her sharp vision, but couldn't find any place to hide. There was no ventilation shaft, and no doors around her. There was no way out.

The droids' footsteps grew ever louder as they came closer. They were right around both corners. Rebecca took another wild look around, this time looking up as she readied herself to fight. _Espere un segundo…_ Rebecca looked back up at the ceiling, a smile growing as an idea formed. Moving as quickly and quietly as she could, she jumped at the wall and kicked off of it with her feet, allowing her to propel herself high enough to grab a support beam on the ceiling. She quickly swung herself back enough so that her feet could reach another support beam, and held herself up on the ceiling: her hands tightly gripping the first beam, and her feet pushing on the other support beam further away, allowing her to conceal herself on the ceiling, so long as nobody looked up.

She held her breath as the droids walked below her in two directions, seemingly oblivious to her presence. She waited until the sounds of their mechanical footsteps faded, then relaxed her feet and hands, allowing her to drop down to the floor again in a crouching position. She slunk over to the wall and took out her datapad to get a closer look at the map.

 _If I am_ aqui _,_ she mused to herself as she marked her current position while calculating where the control room was in the building, _then the control room would be_ _…_ allí _._ She carefully marked the control room's position and allowed the map to show her the quickest route to it. While she waited, she listened for the sounds of another patrol, but it seemed like another wouldn't be coming for a while. When she turned back to her 'pad, she saw the route: keep going straight until reaching the second intersection, take a right and go straight for another intersection, and go into the second room on the left.

Just don't get caught.

Rebecca put away her map again and snuck along the wall, keeping close to the ground as well. If she _was_ caught, at least that would make it harder to spot her. The droid patrols still had yet to make their return, and she intended to make the most of it. She continued on quickly and quietly, following the map's directions to the letter, finally coming to a stop in front of a seemingly random door.

Rebecca once again took out her dagger and jimmied open the control panel to the door. She concentrated on cutting just the right wire; any false moves and the entire Separatist army would know she was there. Her dagger ripped through a wire, and the door opened, thankfully without any alarms. Rebecca breathed a sigh of relief as she entered the control room, a simple dark room with plenty of control panels and comm systems. Thankfully, it was empty; the operators were most likely off duty at the moment.

Rebecca gravitated over to the nearest control panel and cut it open the same way she did earlier with her dagger. She inserted her datapad into the panel and tapped in a quick command, allowing her 'pad's hacking software to wear down the system's defenses, giving her easy access to the information the Republic needed. When her hacking software was through, she started the download process, giving her all the relevant information she needed about battle tactics and weaknesses on the planet.

Just as the download was completing, her Force senses warned her of someone's presence closing in on the room. Acting quickly, she concealed herself in the shadows surrounding her, careful to keep from unplugging the datapad, and hiding herself behind the panel. The door opened as she carefully slowed her breathing to keep from being heard as well as seen, revealing a male Siniteen technician casually walking into the room and working on fixing a control panel not ten steps from where Rebecca was. He gave no indication that he suspected someone else was in the room with him.

A faint vibration in Rebecca's hand let her know the datapad was finished downloading; all she had to do now was to save it and sneak out of this place. Carefully and slowly, she inched her hand to the datapad and tapped a button that saved the data. The Siniteen didn't appear to hear her, thankfully. She inched her hand up into the control panel slowly, disconnecting the cord quietly and storing it back into her device. Still no reaction from the Siniteen. However, there was still the matter of the top of the control panel. It was still lying by the panel, waiting to be welded back into place. Rebecca couldn't do that with the Siniteen still in the room, though. She had to wait until he left. _A menos que…_

An idea formed in Rebecca's mind like a fully formed star. It was definitely risky, yes, but she had to get the information to the Republic, and she had never been one for patience. She'd have to truly hope that her spy skills were at the peak she thought them to be. Closing her eyes, she delved into the Force, allowing her senses to expand to the Siniteen. Carefully, so he wouldn't sense it, she felt out his Force signature, trying to realize how much resistance he had to mind tricks. He was a Siniteen, which was an extremely intelligent species, and she could tell that he had some resistance to the Force, but she knew she could manipulate him without too much trouble. She slowly pressed her will on his mind.

 _You want to fix the control panel nearby,_ she quietly implored. The Siniteen stopped tinkering in the other panel and furrowed his brow, most likely from the fact that a thought had just entered his mind that wasn't his own. His gaze roamed over to Rebecca's panel, still waiting to be welded together again. Rebecca pressed on his mind again. _You want to fix the control panel nearby_ _,_ she silently repeated, more insistently this time. The Siniteen immediately walked over to the other panel and set to work welding it up. Rebecca silently prayed that he wouldn't see her in the shadows. He didn't seem to notice her; all he noticed was fixing the panel. He soon finished with it, and Rebecca then pressed on his mind again. _You now want to leave the room_ _._ The Siniteen immediately left the room. Rebecca sighed in relief, not quite believing that she'd been able to do that, and waited for a few minutes, just to ensure that the Siniteen really was gone.

Then she snuck out of the room and slunk back the way she'd come by the wall. She moved a bit quicker, because that Siniteen had reminded her that there were other people besides droids there, too, and she had to leave before anyone spotted her. Soon, she reached the opening in the ceiling. Once again, she jumped off the wall and grabbed another support beam, reaching the opening and climbing inside, where she once again crawled through until she reached the end, which led outside. She carefully waited until the droid patrols had rounded the corner, then jumped out of the vent and leapt into the trees.

Rebecca traveled far enough from the building so that her frequency wouldn't get traced, then took out her long-range comlink.

" _Resolute_ , this is Commander Rebecca Storm of Kalifa. I have the information for Folinoe, and I'll need a pick-up."

 _"Copy that, Commander. We'll be there in a few hours."_

* * *

The _Twilight_ flew into the Resolute's landing bay and landed smoothly. Captain Rex waited as the ramp lowered, revealing General Skywalker, Ahsoka, and Commander Storm. It was good to see her again. She'd intrigued him after their first meeting. As she walked down the ramp, he could also tell that the other men nearby thought so, too. It was rare they were able to meet a woman, let alone someone who looked like Rebecca Storm. She wore a gray cloak that fell to her knees on top of dark clothing this time, but she still looked generally the same, with her dark brown hair still in a braid. She must have been one of those people who stuck with only one look. She noticed the Captain and walked over to him.

"Good to see you again, Captain." Rebecca said, saluting the clone. Rex returned it, replying, "Likewise, Commander. Good to see you've made it in the war so far."

She nodded, and began to make her way to the debriefing room to divulge her information. The Jedi and Rex followed her into the room, where General Kenobi stood in holographic form, and Admiral Yularen stood beside him, waiting patiently.

"Well, Commander Storm? What have you found?"

Rebecca took out a datapad and plugged it into the console in the middle of the room. She tapped a few commands on it, and a list of tactics appeared on the console. Rebecca led them through it, pointing out the most important tactics and strategies used on Folinoe.

"From what I can tell, the Separatists on Folinoe are first using their regular battle droids and super battle droids to wear down their enemies and give a false sense of hope before bringing in their commando droids to overrun them. It's how they took the villages and towns around the planet. We're going to need to stay sharp in the assault on Folinoe. They have several commando droid facilities scattered throughout the planet. We'll need to take those out, probably with bombers, and since they don't know we're coming, we'll have the element of surprise."

"They didn't catch you?" Kenobi asked in surprise. Rebecca looked evenly at him.

"No, they didn't, General. I hardly get caught."

That was…surprising. From what Rex had heard, there was a lot of security on that planet. There was definitely still more to her than met the eye, besides her knowing how to swing around a lightsaber. No wonder the Supreme Chancellor took Kalifa's bargain.

Skywalker nodded. "All right then; we know what we have to do to: take Folinoe. We're moving out in five hours." He then turned to Rex. "That'll give you enough time to prep the troops, Rex."

"Understood, General."

Kenobi continued. "The 212th Battalion will focus on taking the south side of the planet, and the 501st can take the north side."

Admiral Yularen nodded. "This meeting is dismissed."

Rex walked out of the room to get his troops ready. He was so lost in thought that he didn't notice Rebecca was right beside him until she spoke.

"You all right, Rex?"

The clone captain jerked out of his thoughts and focused on the Commander. He was anything but, but he couldn't tell her that. In fact, he couldn't tell anyone what he'd found on Saleucami. It wouldn't be right for Cut, and Rex didn't think he could really live with himself afterward anyway.

What had happened on Saleucami had changed him. Rex started to see things differently thanks to his run-in with clone deserter Cut Lawquane. He'd seen a clone settling down, having a family. Rex had never really thought about it much, but he knew that somewhere, deep inside him, he did want what Cut had: a family, a wife, children. Somewhere where he didn't have to be a clone to belong. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get it, though. He was a soldier, first and foremost, and he had a duty to his brothers. _They_ were his family, the people he fought to protect. But every now and then, the thought of having a family bubbled up again.

But he couldn't tell Rebecca that. He couldn't tell her any of it. He didn't like to have to lie, but it was to protect a man he now respected.

"I'm fine," he answered to Rebecca. She raised an eyebrow doubtfully, but she didn't try to press him. He wondered why she wouldn't try to ask him anything else, even though she looked like she wanted to. It never occurred to him that she may have once been in a similar position.

Rex reached the hangar bay, where most of the men were. Fives and Echo were playing cards in a corner, Jesse and Kix were arm wrestling. Others were just talking and resting up.

Rex clipped his helmet to his belt, and whistled to get the Legion's attention. "501st, listen up! In five standard hours, we're going to be invading the planet Folinoe to stop their commando droid manufacturing. We'll be taking the northern side of the planet with General Skywalker. I want you all to get ready for this mission. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" The Legion chimed back at him in unison.

"Dismissed." As the clones disbanded, Coric walked over to the clone captain.

"What is it, Coric?"

"Sir, I hate to tell you this, but we're starting to run low on medical supplies, and with the upcoming assault, we don't have time to replenish before the battle."

Rex exhaled in exasperation. "I'm afraid we'll just have to make do for now, Coric. Get whatever med supplies you can together and be here in the hangar bay when we start the assault. Something tells me we're going to need them."

* * *

Rebecca ducked as a Separatist tank shot a plasma bolt near her position. She heard the cries of the clone soldiers who had been hit by the bolt, going from bone-rattling screaming to abruptly stopping as a clone succumbed to his injuries.

 _Another_ soldado _bites the dust._

She always hated it when people died, but it was particularly hard on the battlefield, as she couldn't do anything about it most of the time. She had a mission, and she'd learned that saving one person wasn't worth the lives of so many others. But that didn't mean she couldn't be haunted by it.

Rebecca drew the blaster pistol at her hip and her concealed lightsaber simultaneously as she rejoined the battle. The first part of the battle had gone relatively well; she'd been right about the bombers' element of surprise on the commando droid facilities, which had quickly been destroyed before the droids ready for battle hurried to defend Folinoe from the Republic. The problem, though, was that there were _so many_ droids. Even though they'd destroyed the planet-based facilities, more reinforcements kept hurrying in from space. The Republic cruisers orbiting were having quite a field day in the space battle.

General Skywalker had split the 501st Legion into two groups: one commanded by him and Commander Tano, and one commanded by Captain Rex and herself. The goal was to overwhelm the droids by coming from multiple directions...but there were just so many droids. Rebecca didn't know if the cruisers could handle all the Seppies up in space, and if the cruisers couldn't deal with the Separatists in space, then the droids on the ground would just keep coming until the Republic troops were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and firepower, and then everyone would be taken prisoner or killed.

Sometimes it was better if she just didn't think so much during a battle; she was liable to get a migraine with all this stressful thinking.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rebecca saw Rex shooting at the droids around him with his _hermanos_. They fought together like a well-oiled machine; they always seemed to know what the other person was thinking. She figured these clones were Rex's most trusted friends and family in the army.

 _Amigos y familia._

The world around her seemed to flow to a stop as she thought about the last time _she_ had more than one friend. And a family.

She remembered sunshine and blue skies; green trees and flowers of all colors; beautiful _caballos_ prancing in meadows. She remembered a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and dark blue eyes; a girl with dark hair and eyes; a boy with black hair and blue eyes. She remembered the beauty of life and how she had loved living with a passion unlike anything before. She remembered laughter and joy. She remembered love.

Then she remembered the dark-haired girl's eyes changing from joy and hope to hate and selfishness. She remembered the woman being impaled in the chest by a black lightsaber, betrayed by someone she loved dearly. She remembered the boy turning his back on her and walking away; he didn't need her anymore. She remembered the sky turning black and dark like a coming thunderstorm, the lightning flickering throughout. She remembered the orange flames consuming her hometown until it was nothing but blackened rubble, the people trapped in the fire screaming until they succumbed to _muerte_. She remembered fear, shock, anger, hate, and—most painfully of all—a deep, dark hole filled with regret and pain that she'd fallen down into and could never seem to climb out of. All that was left to comfort her now was Dakota and the memories of simpler times. Of better times. Of perfect times.

Now those times were no more. Now all that was left was pain. Harsh, cruel pain that threatened to destroy what was left of her sanity.

Time flowed again as Rebecca came out of the thoughts with a shudder. She once again looked toward Rex and his followers. She hoped that he knew what a gift he had to have people care about him. She hoped that he would realize it if he didn't.

But she also wondered how long it would be before those same people he was friends with and cared about turned their backs on him. _IF_ they turned on him.

Rebecca deflected another bolt with her lightsaber back at the Separatist droids. She leaped at a super battle droid and sliced it in half while simultaneously shooting her pistol at the surrounding droids, taking down at least one with every shot. There were still so many droids; how were they going to take these all down?

She made her way over to Rex and shouted over the noise of the battle to be heard. "So, how are we going to take down these droids if they have more reinforcements than we do?"

Rex's response was sharp and swift. "We take down as many as we can for the sake of the Republic before we reach the end. If we die, at least we'll die for something we believe in."

Rebecca made a mental note to talk to Rex about war later; he seemed to have some interesting ideas about it. She also just wanted to talk to someone. After all, Dakota was light-years away, and, though she could talk to her in hologram form, she wanted someone to talk to who was physically with her, who could actually understand situations she was going through because they'd experienced it themselves first-hand.

All of a sudden, her comlink chirped. As Rebecca continued deflecting the enemy fire, she answered her comm. "Commander Storm here."

Admiral Yularen's voice came through. "Commander, we've destroyed the last of the enemy ships and are sending reinforcements your way. They'll be there momentarily. We have won this battle."

 _Tell that to the soldiers who are dead,_ Rebecca thought grimly to herself before she answered him. "Yes, sir. I'll inform the troops."

She informed Rex of the development, and he passed it on to the troops and General Skywalker. The reinforcements landed as the group was about to be overwhelmed. Then, the soldiers quickly made short work of the battle droids, pushing them back and taking them out.

While cleaning up the Separatist remnants, Rebecca thought back to the Admiral's words as she looked at the carnage around her. This had been a good, strong planet when she'd first landed on its soil, with nice green grass and beautiful forests. Now, there was a bleak, black, nothingness everywhere she looked, with bodies littering the ground, both mechanical and organic. The battle had effectively destroyed all sources of nature on Folinoe, leaving it ugly and lifeless.

Yes, maybe they had won the battle. But she'd been raised to respect nature and appreciate its beauty. And if this was respect, she'd hate to see what _dis_ respect was for nature. She frowned as she looked on, her gut continually saying, _This isn't right. It shouldn't have to be this way._

Yet it was. Because it was war, and war always took the most beautiful and best things in life.

* * *

Rex sat at a lone table on the _Resolute_ , waiting on the casualty report for the Battle of Folinoe, drinking a cup of caf. It always took so long for the correct number to be given; there were usually a lot of bodies to go through on the field. He rested his hand on his forehead as he tapped on his datapad, filing the various reports on the battle.

A few minutes later, the casualty report came in. Rex looked it over, his frown deepening as he read it through. _1,241 casualties. Checks. Ridge. Connor. Blindside. Deadshot. Calcs._ The list of names went on and on, many of which were people he'd known well. Every day, more and more of these battles came, with thousands of casualties. Thousands of dead men. _Shab._

 _Expendable._

 _Unimportant._

 _Flesh-droids._

The words sprang up in his mind as he thought about the battle, about the men who'd died. The men who didn't matter to the Republic. Rex locked down that thought as it came, though it was getting harder and harder to keep ignoring those kinds of thoughts.

Rex sighed as he thought about how much easier things had been before he had those thoughts. Before he saw his first battle. Before he saw a clone trooper die. Before he met the clone deserter Cut Lawquane. Before he began wondering if Cut was right. Before he began to yearn for a future where he wasn't just a clone, a future where he mattered to other people. A future of a normal life.

A light tap on the wall behind him made Rex turn to see Rebecca Storm standing in the door frame. She smiled at him.

"Hey."

Not knowing what else to do, Rex repeated her greeting. "Hey."

Rebecca walked over to his table. "All right if I sit here?"

At Rex's nod of affirmation, she sat in the seat across from him and a silence enveloped the couple as Rex finished his filing. Rebecca's voice pierced the air again.

"How many were there?" Rex didn't have to ask what she meant; he could tell the look in her eyes as she avoided eye contact and focused on the wall.

"1,241 this time." Rebecca exhaled through her nose and closed her eyes. He could tell she didn't like the numbers any more than he did.

"I'm sorry."

Rex looked at her with a puzzled expression as he answered. "What for? It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, but I figured that at least one person should apologize for making you do this."

"Making me do what?"

"Watching people you care about die for something you might not believe in."

At this, Rex met her intense gaze filled with sorrow and pain. He got the feeling she'd been through a lot more in her life than it seemed to most people. She probably had gone through what he was going through now. And, oddly enough, he felt comforted by that fact. It was good to know that someone out in the galaxy could somehow _understand_ him in a way that most other people he knew who were mongrels didn't.

He wanted to know how she could understand like that.

Rex dropped his gaze to the table, which he now realized was a dejarik table.

"Care to play a round of dejarik, Commander?"

Rebecca looked at the table uncomprehendingly as he activated it, the holographic monsters glowing in their positions. Then she looked at him, raising an eyebrow.

"You know how to play this, Captain?"

"I've played it a few times," Rex answered with a casual shrug. Rebecca's eyes glinted with slight mischief, and she allowed a small smile as she readied her controls.

"Well, then, I hope you're ready to lose."

Rex returned with her words with a half-smile, and they started the game.

* * *

 _A/N: This chapter is when Rex and Rebecca officially become "friends." Before, they were just acquaintances. Now, they've bonded over battles and common views._

 _Also, wow, I'm starting to write really long chapters now! (I'm not sure if that's good or bad. I'm going to be optimistic here and go with good.)_

 _Espere un segundo=wait a second; aqui=here; allí=there; a menos que=unless; soldado=soldier; hermanos=brothers; amigos y familia=friends and family; caballos=horses; muerte=death._

 _I don't like to tell a whole lot about what's going on with my characters right off the bat, because I have a plan to reveal that at some other time (I also like it if I surprise people with one thing when they're thinking another thing). But I will tell you this for now: Rebecca's lightsaber was actually a Jedi's before it belonged to her. What do you suppose that means for Rebecca? It's actually a very significant detail concerning her backstory._

 _Also, the type of job the Republic employs her in is basically like a spy's job: she goes to a Separatist system, finds particular information the Republic has an interest in, gets it to the fleet, and lets the Republic use that information to their advantage while they can. Sometimes she even takes part in the battles resulting afterwards. Originally, I actually had her assigned to the 501_ _st_ _Legion as a secondary commander/adviser, but it just didn't seem that believable to me. I did want an excuse for her to come into contact with the Legion with something a bit more plausible, something better suiting to what the Republic would want, and this idea came about. She will continue to converse with the 501_ _st_ _on multiple occasions during these missions, though._

 _Please read and review, and PM me if you get an idea for one of her missions; I almost killed myself just thinking this up. ;P_

 _Have a good summer! Also, who's going to go see_ Captain America: Civil War _? And who is expecting Steve to die in either this movie or the_ Infinity War _duology? (I don't like having to see Steve die, since he's my favorite Avenger, but they've got Crossbones in this one, and he's partially responsible for Steve's "death" in the comics. [they make him come back at some point after a while])_


	10. Chapter 10: Rumors

_A/N: Well, everybody, I'm back, and I'm ready to get the rest of this fic done and posted for you all. I hope you all had a great summer, and I thank the people who took the time and effort to write reviews for my work; I really appreciate it. I also apologize if this chapter is a bit rough; I'm a little out of practice._

* * *

 **Chapter 10: Rumors**

 _21 BBY (4.5 months later)_

As Captain Rex walked through the hallways, he couldn't help but notice the clusters of clone troopers gathering from time to time, and they all seemed to be completely engrossed in talking about something. However, as soon as the clone captain got closer, they all immediately ceased talking until he had passed out of hearing distance. Then the voices started up again.

He tried not to feel too irritated about that; it was perfectly normal for soldiers to not want to share rumors and such with their commanding officers. For one thing, commanding officers had the power to punish the gossipers for spreading "unseemly rumors." But it seemed as though everyone he saw was talking about something important if they kept going on and on long after he'd departed. At the very least, he was curious.

Catching a passing trooper by the elbow, Rex decided to get to the bottom of it.

"Trooper, what is everyone talking about?" Shifting himself from one foot to the other, the clone nervously answered.

"Well, sir, uh…do you remember when we had Commander Storm aboard a few months back?"

"I do," Rex answered, not entirely sure what the clone was getting at. Commander Storm was a beautiful woman, but that was no need for the entire company to get riled up about her months after her first appearance to them.

"Well, I, uh, apparently one of the ARC troopers attempted to hack into her file a while ago." Pausing, the trooper seemed to clam up after saying that and appeared to get more nervous. After all, it was no secret that the Captain and Commander shared a bond of some kind. He didn't want to get into trouble for telling the rumors to Captain Rex of the 501st, of all people.

Rex impatiently nodded for him to continue, though. Fives was probably this "anonymous ARC trooper;" he was going to have to talk to him about that later. "And?"

Swallowing, the trooper reluctantly complied. "And her file was protected with firewalls stronger than the Republic's. Which led that trooper to wonder what she's trying to hide. What's so important about her that her file can't even be hacked?"

"And that's what's making everyone so riled up?" The clone captain asked incredulously. Rebecca's business was her business, after all. There was no need for people to start overreacting about something that was nothing.

"Well, sir, the rumors are definitely getting…entertaining."

Rex narrowed his eyes. He was pretty sure he wasn't going to like this, whatever it was. "Which are what, trooper?"

"Uh, there's one about how she used to work for a crime boss and carried out countless assassinations for him, and there's another about how she killed her family in cold blood and tried to cover it up, and there's another about how the Kalifan government took pity on her when she was young because she engaged in, er…questionable activities."

"Such as?"

"Um…child prostitution and slave trafficking? And that she was pregnant but had it aborted because she couldn't let a child get in the way of her career?"

Rex blinked at the trooper before it finally sank in, and shock soon gave way as the trooper cringed and hurried away, leaving the captain with his thoughts.

These rumors were definitely more severe than other more harmless rumors. These ones were unseemly and disrespectful to the Commander, and, if these things got out of the clone ranks, there could be an unwanted scandal investigation on Rebecca's head. And it would hurt Rebecca harshly if she knew about it; she tended to be a bit sensitive about criticism. Yes, he had only seen her about a handful of times, and didn't know too much about her yet, but he did feel a connection of some sort with her, and he knew that she didn't deserve to have destructive rumors spread about her. That was enough for him to try to do something about it.

With purpose in his step, Rex made his way to the bridge, where he knew General Skywalker would be. He strode in and asked to talk with the general privately.

"The general is already in a meeting." The clone on deck told him.

"With who?"

"Er…Commander Storm, sir. She just got here from the Rodair system." The clone's trepid statement was enough to convince Rex that he, too, had heard the rumors going around.

Icy uncertainty laced the captain's veins as he deliberated this turn of events. She was here, and that meant she could have heard this gossip on the ship. Would she think he had something to do with it, or that people thought it was true? And what if it was true? What would that mean for Rex's respect for her?

There was nothing he could do though, except wait for her.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Commander Storm and General Skywalker emerged from the briefing room. Skywalker was just telling her to not worry about something when they passed Rex from his position. Looking at them both, Rex could tell something was not quite right with Rebecca. The calm in her expression didn't match the pain in her eyes. She was hiding herself under a mask. Rex could only tell because he'd had practice at hiding behind his own mask in battle.

Taking a deep breath, Rex followed and caught to them.

"General Skywalker," he began as he fell a step behind the general, "I need to talk to you in private."

Skywalker looked at the wall chrono and nodded his head. "Alright, but it'll have to be quick."

"Thank you, sir." Rex looked at Rebecca as he passed her. Her mask was firmly in place, but he thought he could detect a semblance of fear. He made up his mind to go find her after talking with Skywalker.

Finding an empty hallway, Skywalker finally asked, "Alright, Rex, what seems to be the problem? I could sense your anxiety a parsec away."

"Sir, it's about the gossip aboard this ship."

Skywalker looked at him curiously. "What about it? The gossip on the Resolute is normally harmless and a way for the men to blow off steam. I don't see the reason for you to get so irritated about it, Rex."

"Except this gossip is not something you want people to know about, sir." _Here goes._ "I have reason to believe that the gossip about Commander Storm is not very respectful and is in danger of permanently damaging her reputation."

"What do you mean, Rex?" Skywalker wondered, still blissfully ignorant. When Rex told him what the specific rumors about Rebecca were, the general's face grew dark in contemplation. He knew as well as Rex the damages these particular rumors could cause.

"What do you suppose we should do about it, General?" Rex asked, anxious to know if any drastic actions should be taken.

For a few minutes, Skywalker was silent. Then he answered thoughtfully and carefully. "I suppose…I could send out a message that any soldiers suspected of spreading vicious and potentially harmful rumors would be subject to a period of probation guard on Coruscant. Hopefully that will keep things at bay."

"I hope you're right, sir."

Skywalker nodded. "Dismissed, Captain."

Rex saluted Skywalker and began walking down the hallways again, this time on an entirely different mission. He searched all the rooms he knew he could find Rebecca in: the mess, the hangar bay, etc. But she wasn't there. Everywhere he searched, he couldn't find that Commander.

The comm at his belt beeped, and Rex raised it to his lips. "This is Captain Rex."

Skywalker's voice penetrated the emptiness of the ship, as most of the men had gone to their cabins. "I figured you might want to know that Rebecca's room is Cabin 3-25D."

"Thank you, sir." The comm went silent again, and Rex started striding to Rebecca's cabin. Hopefully, she'd be there.

* * *

He couldn't believe it. She wasn't even in her room. And he had no idea where else to look for her. The clone captain slowly and silently walked back to the mess hall. It was getting late, and he knew he should get some food before going to sleep. Tomorrow, he'd see if he couldn't find her.

Rex walked into the mess and was greeted with the surprising sight of Rebecca Storm drinking a cup of caf on a bench.

"Rebecca Storm," he nodded his head respectfully at her as she turned to look at him, the mask sliding back on her face.

"Yes, Captain?" Though spoken casually, it was that statement that cemented things for Rex. She'd heard the rumors. Usually, when they were alone, she insisted on calling him Rex. Not today, though.

"Rebecca, something's wrong, isn't it?"

"Why would anything be wrong?" Rebecca asked, feigning surprise at her friend's concern.

"I think you know the answer already, Rebecca."

She silently looked at him for a moment with a dead expression before turning her head away from him and spoke quietly. "I wouldn't want to burden you with my problems."

Rex could feel a frustrated retort forming on his lips as he prepared to push her, but then he stopped himself. He couldn't make her talk to him if she didn't want to. It was clear, though, that she'd had a rough time. And the one he knew he could do was be her friend.

Sighing in defeat, the captain sat beside her on the bench. For a few minutes, a silence enveloped the two until Rex spoke again. "You know nobody believes those rumors, right?"

Rebecca looked at the man beside her with surprise. "Of course I know no one really believes those rumors, _capitán_." Her expression then turned conflicted as Rex continued to watch her, and he knew she was debating with herself on what she should tell him. Her expression grew pained, and her eyes became glassy as she continued. "I just…let's just say that one of those rumors hit a little close to the mark, and it's forced me to relive something in my past."

"What is it?" Rex asked in disbelief. He knew that she wasn't a bad person; it was completely unrealistic to believe that she could be capable of appalling acts like the ones described in her rumors. His gut told him that she could be trusted, even though he didn't know much about her past. He wanted to help her get past this…whatever it was.

At his question, Rebecca looked ready to have her emotions spill out in the form of tears. "I…" She took a deep breath, apparently trying to steel her emotions, then continued. "Rex, I like you, and I know that you're a good man and you want to help me, and I'm grateful that you're my friend."

Rex could hear a but in her statement coming up. "But…"

Rebecca tucked some wayward strands of her dark hair back as she continued, looking completely devastated. "But I'm just not ready to talk about my…issues with you just yet. And…I'm not sure if you're ready to hear about them, either. I'm sorry."

The clone captain exhaled disappointedly. He could only be her friend now. "Alright. Just know…that I'll always be ready to listen when you're ready."

"Thank you." Rebecca returned her gaze to her caf cup with a small smile on her face. Rex could tell that she wasn't completely over her problems yet, but she did seem somewhat more at ease. Once again, a comfortable silence draped itself over the couple.

"Would you like some caf, Rex?" Rebecca asked, holding out her mug towards him. Despite the health regulations on the cruiser he knew about sharing food and drinks, Rex nodded and took the cup from her. He drank some and handed it back to her.

"You have good taste in your caf, Rebecca."

She smiled as she answered him. " _Gracias, mi amigo_."

As the captain sat with the commander, the silence of the ship lulled him into a state of dozing. This caused him to almost miss Rebecca's next words.

"Maybe one day I'll take you up on your offer."

* * *

 _A/N: Please read and review, and don't be afraid to speculate! I'll be updating about once every one or two weeks. Also, did you see the new_ Star Wars Rebels _trailer? It's making me very excited about the show._

 _Capit_ _án=captain_

 _Gracias, mi amigo=thank you, my friend_


	11. Chapter 11: Captured

_A/N: For the record, this is my favorite chapter so far. Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 11: Captured**

 _21 BBY (1.5 months later)_

The crack of the energy whip echoed throughout the dungeon, and Rebecca Storm cried out in pain. The blue Twi'lek sneered at her as he drew his arm back to lash at her back again. The tight chains wrapped around her ankles and wrists were the only things keeping her from collapsing into the dirt floor.

The whip cracked across her back again, shooting tendrils of muscle-numbing electricity into her nervous system. She wasn't sure exactly how much longer she could keep up with something like this before she either cracked or…died.

The Twi'lek once again drew his arm back, as he'd been doing for the past three or four hours, when a large green hand clutched at his wrist, stopping him. He dropped his arm as the tall, muscular Falleen strode to Rebecca as she caught her breath. His luxurious purple and gold robes announced his rank as a nobleman of his people. Over his heart shone a black circle surrounded by a circle of spikes save at the top, where the spikes tapered off and were replaced by a tall skinny triangle with a smaller and fatter upside-down triangle on either side: the symbol of the Black Sun Crime Syndicate.

Coming up behind her, the Falleen grasped her chin with his large hand and painfully twisted her head around to look into her purple eyes. He growled menacingly at her, attempting to instill fear into his prisoner.

"Now, let's try this _again_ , girl," his gravelly voice broke the tense silence as prisoner and jailer locked eyes in a silent battle for dominance. "Why. Did. You. Come. Here?"

Rebecca glared at him before answering through gritted teeth. He was a fool if he thought he was still getting anything out of her. "As I've told you, I'm just a sanitations worker. I don't know _why_ you decided to take me and I certainly don't know what your point is—"

"LIES!" The Falleen roared at her as he pushed harshly on a whip burn on her shoulder. Ignoring her pained groan, he continued in a loud, angry voice right in her ear. "We know you're not who you say you are! Your ID is a fraud, and we just found the sanitations worker _you_ replaced! There's no way out for you here. So if you value your life, I suggest you try telling us the _truth_. It could help you in your trial."

Rebecca laughed bitterly as the Falleen released her and began circling slowly. "I think we both know that your idea of a trial consists of corrupt officials and a firing squad. Why should I tell you anything when we both know how this will ultimately end?"

The Falleen's eyes glittered with malice as he answered. "Well, I _could_ always do something worse to you to get you to talk. And I know that no woman will want to have happen to them what I've got in mind for _you_. So unless you want to be taken to the guard's quarters—" here the Twi'lek chuckled darkly "—and have to live with the damage done to you there, you should start talking. _NOW._ "

Rebecca couldn't help but pale as she heard the implications of the Falleen's threat. No, she definitely did not want that to happen to her. She did, after all, believe in a personal dignity of oneself. And if she didn't say what they wanted to hear, she would be losing that, along with her self-respect. She had been the one to get caught, after all; this was her punishment for not getting the job done right.

She wouldn't dare give up the Republic, of course. But she needed to think of a good lie and fast. Something that would get her what she wanted.

 _Ah, I've got it._

She just had to play her cards right.

Feigning a defeated expression, Rebecca dropped her head to the floor as though she were giving up. Sighing deeply, she plunged in.

However, as she did so, she discreetly curled the fingers of her left hand in and pressed into the palm of her glove, activating the emergency one-way comm stored there. If she got out of this alive, she would have to thank Dakota Farthing the next time she called her.

* * *

"Captain!" Rex quickly spun around and addressed the clone speaking to him.

"Yes, Mito? What is it?"

"Sir, the general's called an emergency meeting in the briefing room and wants you there immediately."

Rex nodded at Mito. "Understood."

He strode away as Mito saluted him and made his way to the briefing room, wondering what was so important that the general had to discuss. They had just finished battle on the planet Bailiff and were about to go into hyperspace back to Coruscant.

As Rex stepped into the briefing room, the first thing he saw was Skywalker's brooding expression as he stood in front of the hologram console, one hand under his chin.

"You wanted to see me, General?"

Skywalker's head snapped up, his blue eyes hard as rocks, and he nodded tersely. "Yes, Rex, I think we may have a situation."

Rex's eyebrows scrunched together. "What sort of situation, sir?"

"The _Resolute_ received this one-way transmission about half a standard hour ago. I think you should hear it." He activated the holo console, and a familiar voice filled the room.

" _Alright, you got me; I'm not a sanitations worker for the Black Sun Headquarters here on Ord Mantell."_

That was Rebecca Storm. But why was she calling them? And why did she sound so raggedly tired? Rex had a feeling that this wouldn't be good for her.

Then a deep voice replied to her statement. _"Then who are you?"_

" _My name is Wicura Strain, and I work for the Confederacy of Independent Systems. I'm their spy."_

The other voice spoke with quiet darkness. _"The Confederacy of Independent Systems? Why are they spying on us? They have no need to do that."_

Rebecca sighed heavily and, it seemed, reluctantly. _"They're planning on betraying you and leaving you in the Republic's mercy. They wanted me to get information on the Black Sun's whereabouts so they can 'leak' the information to the Republic and let them spring an ambush on you, seeing as how that leak will also include the hidden alliance between the Black Sun and the Confederacy."_

There was silence for a few moments, and then the second voice roared out, _"WHAT?!"_ Then there were the sounds of footsteps and rustling, and then the distinguishable crack of a whip rang out, along with the pained cry of Rebecca. The cracks of the whip were sounded several times at a frenzied rhythm, along with Rebecca's cries of pain, until her voice eventually died out, even as the whip lashed on.

The second voice was then heard, albeit more calmly and controlled. _"I'm ordering a meeting of the Black Sun Council to discuss the revoking of the alliance with the Separatists, as well as their punishment for this treachery."_

Then the connection fizzled and became static.

Skywalker looked at Rex. "I've already talked with the Jedi Council, and we've been ordered to participate in a battle at Ord Mantell to cripple the Black Sun Crime Syndicate. This is the opportunity the Republic has been waiting for."

"And what of Commander Storm, sir?" Rex asked. "She didn't sound like she was doing so well."

"We'll be rescuing her during the battle, Rex; then we'll evac her off the planet. Get your men ready, too."

"Yes, sir." Rex saluted and waited to be dismissed. When Skywalker gave the go ahead, Rex set off at a fast clip to get his men together. He was also worried about Rebecca. As he played back the conversation in his mind, ice grew in his stomach. According to the transmission, she could either be unconscious or…worse. He only hoped they would get to her in time.

* * *

Groaning painfully, Rebecca lifted her pounding head. She was still in the Black Sun's dungeon, with pain coming from pretty much every part of her body. But she was alone now. She had to give the Black Sun some credit, though; that Falleen certainly knew how to use an energy-whip when he was mad. She could feel the ground shaking beneath her feet, but she wasn't sure what the really meant, nor how long she'd been out. She did know, however, that she had to get out of there. Unfortunately, her wrists and ankles were tightly wrapped with chains that were biting into her skin.

Quietly, Rebecca pulled at the chains, testing their strength. They'd held her weight just fine when she'd blacked out from the pain, but she suspected they might not be the best the Black Sun had. Sure enough, she could tell that the chains were weak in a few places, and she could use that to her advantage if she had enough energy.

Closing her eyes, Rebecca concentrated on the weak points of the chains and focused herself, allowing the Force to fill her with strength. Her fingertips touched the chains holding her wrists, and a sliver of white ice formed, working its way up to the weak points. When the ice reached the weak points, Rebecca grasped the chains and pulled, breaking her wrists free. Then she collapsed into the dirt, catching her breath for a few minutes.

Then she stood up, reached into the pocket of the blue jumpsuit she'd stolen, brought out a lock pick, and unlocked her hands and ankles. She was so tired, she wished she could just _rest_ , but she knew that wasn't possible right then. She had to sneak out of the dungeon, get to the Black Sun hangar, steal a ship, and get back to the Republic. And she also had to do it while still under the effects of four straight hours of torture via energy whip. She really hated those things.

Gingerly holding her left side, Rebecca staggered over to the wall and leaned on it for support as she quietly went through the dungeon. Apparently, the Black Sun didn't believe in keeping prisoners alive for very long, since all the cages were either empty or had an unconscious or dead body in it. She was just lucky that her cell didn't have a door. That would've definitely been a pain.

The place suddenly shook, as though a bomb had gone off somewhere, and Rebecca bumped herself against the wall until it stopped and she could go on again.

 _Just keep going, just keep going, just keep going._

She repeated that phrase in her head over and over like a mantra as she finally came to the exit after navigating herself through several hallways and to several dead ends. However, by then, she was about ready to collapse again. Trying to escape from professional criminals while someone was basically the walking dead was definitely a new experience for her. Going through the exit, she crashed into someone head-on and fell to the ground. Looking up, she found herself looking up at a familiar white helmet with a T-shaped visor and was adorned with a pair of _jaig_ eyes.

"Rex?" she asked confusedly. She'd sent her message to the _Resolute_ , but he shouldn't be right where she was then. He should be fighting. He shouldn't be with her.

The clone captain bent down and pulled her up. "Commander Storm, are you all right?"

Still in shock that he was here, Rebecca numbly nodded. "Yes, I'm fine. But what are _you_ doing here, Rex?"

"We're rescuing you." Rebecca whipped her head to see Anakin Skywalker charging around the corner with his lightsaber, holding off the Black Sun's soldiers. As she watched, he continued towards her and Rex, cutting down Black Sun soldiers as though they were just a bunch of droids, and _not_ living, breathing people like them. A chill of foreboding ran down her spine. He reminded her so much of…

"Commander, we have to go, now. We've already called in an evac for you, ma'am." Rex pulled her along the corridor as he shot at the enemy with one of his blaster pistols. Anakin finally caught up with them, and they ran down the hallways together, looking for an exit in the building.

"You guys aren't supposed to _rescue_ me!" Rebecca called at them desperately as she ran a little behind them. "Did the Council order you to do this?"

"Invade Ord Mantell and the Black Sun? Yes. Rescue you _specifically_? Well, no, but I like to think that they heavily implied it," Anakin called back as he ran ahead, running his lightsaber through every Black Sun member shooting at them.

 _You shouldn't have come for me,_ she thought as she ran to catch up with the two men.

* * *

Rex just got done sending in the casualty report of the Battle of Ord Mantell to the Republic (1500 this time) when he got a call on his comlink that Commander Storm wanted to see him. As he made his way to the medbay, which was where she'd been since she got evacuated, he wondered what she would want. Based on her reaction to the rescue, he had a pretty good idea what she wanted to talk to him about.

When he got to the 'bay and took off his helmet, he was proven right. Rebecca Storm was sitting up on her cot fingering her necklace and looking at a datapad, but she put it down as he came and sat by her.

"You shouldn't have come for me, Rex." She said it quietly, but he could still hear her due to their proximity.

Rex bit back what he wanted to say, and tried a different approach with her. He was learning to keep his temper around her; she didn't like it when anybody got mad.

"Why not?"

Rebecca looked at him in disbelief, apparently surprised that he hadn't figured it out yet.

"Rex, look around you. Look at what's happening in this medbay; people _died_ because of me. They died _for_ me. I don't want people to die because of me. You should have left me."

"And just let you die?" Rex asked, not being able to believe that she could throw her life away so easily.

"If it came to that, then yes! My life is _not_ worth the thousand that were lost because you decided to 'storm the castle' and fight in the strongest part of Black Sun HQ. I don't want to have that sort of blood on my hands."

Rex shook his head at his friend as the lights in the room flickered repeatedly. "You don't have that on your hands, Rebecca. Those men knew what they were getting into—"

"But they didn't really have a choice, did they? They had their orders, and they had to follow them, whether they liked it or not, _didn't they_? They didn't die because they wanted to. They died because they _had_ to, Rex!" Though she kept her voice down, Rebecca was the most agitated Rex had seen her.

And he could sympathize with her. He didn't like the deaths any more than she did. They really hadn't had a choice about Skywalker's strategy. But…

Rex looked straight into Rebecca's dark violet eyes. "Rebecca, I hate to tell you this, but clones are expendable to the Republic. _You_ , however, are not."

Rebecca vigorously shook her head at him. "No, no I'm not. I'm not worth it. One life is _never_ worth the thousands that die for it. You should have just bombed the place when you had the chance and killed me."

Rex stared at her as she said that. She really thought that she should have been the one to die? How could she think so little of herself? "This is war, Rebecca, there are always going to be casualties in _every_ battle, and we may not like them, but they happen, and we just have to deal with it and make the sacrifices worth something. So stop blaming yourself, please."

Rebecca just looked at Rex in silence with saddened and pained eyes for a while before turning her attention to the wall in front of her cot. Not knowing what else to do, Rex just sat with her, promising himself it would only be for a few minutes. Then ten. Then twenty. Then, before he knew it, he'd been sitting with Rebecca for an hour and they still hadn't spoken a word to each other.

"Did you lose anyone you knew?"

Rex started and looked at Rebecca as she spoke in a flat voice, gaze still locked on the wall.

"Several people, I'm afraid. They were good men." He tried, and failed, to keep the pain out of his voice as he answered her.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Rex." Rebecca shifted her gaze to him and smiled ruefully.

Rex chuckled sadly as he thought of his dead men. "You'd think I'd be used to it by now, Rebecca. But I never am."

"I'm not surprised. I don't think anybody ever gets used to it. We just…go on living."

For a few more minutes, neither spoke again. Then Rex heard Rebecca again.

"I hate to ask this, Rex, but…whose strategy did you follow?"

Rex sighed tiredly. "General Skywalker's."

Rebecca smiled sadly. "Yeah…I kind of figured that it was his idea. He tends to go for the reckless approach, doesn't he?"

"Yes, but he's a good general, nonetheless."

"He is…but…" Rebecca seemed to be struggling for words as she figured out the best way to finish her thought. "He reminds me of someone I once knew. He's a lot like her."

"Who?" Rex was curious to know more about Rebecca. Everything she told him about her was interesting to him. And the more she told, the more he wanted to know.

"Just an old friend of mine. It's...not important anymore." Rebecca smiled sadly again as she was apparently lost in the memory of the past.

Rex got up, knowing that it was probably time to leave, but he paused in the doorway. "Hey, Rebecca, I am glad that you're okay, and I'm sorry that you feel the way you do about it."

Rebecca allowed a small smile, a _real_ smile, to grace her features as she answered. "Right back at you, _mi amigo_."

* * *

 _A/N: For those of you who may be wondering where Ahsoka is in this chapter, I'd just like to point out that this chapter takes place during the course of Season 3, Episode 7 in the_ Clone Wars _right now, which is an episode where Ahsoka was absent from the_ Resolute _for a time. Just in case there are those of you who wanted to see Ahsoka more._

 _Mi amigo: my friend_

 _Read and review, please!_


	12. Chapter 12: Tex

_A/N: I think it's only fair to warn you that this could be the last chapter to abide by my two-week update rule, since I just started a new college class, and it looks like it's going to be grueling. Also, my muse is running out of ideas after about Chapter 15. Don't worry, I'm not going to stop this story, but this is just a warning in case I'm late updating it from now on._

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Tex**

 _21 BBY (2.0 months later)_

Another day, and another battle. This time this one had been on a little-known planet called Jaywier, which specialized in creating useful machinery and weapons for the Separatists. The battle had indeed been bloody for the Republic. Rebecca would have said that it had been bloody for the Separatists as well, if it weren't for the fact that they used droids rather than flesh.

She supposed that she could have called it an _oily_ battle for the Separatists, seeing as the battlefield was drenched in the stuff.

She carefully picked her way through the field, trying not to slip in the mud as she scanned the body of every dead trooper she found with her datapad, which would automatically send the body count to Captain Rex as soon as she deemed that she'd found as many clones as she could. Maybe she could have waited for the usual clean-up crew to scan the clones, but she felt a personal responsibility to these men. After all, they'd served under her for a time. The least she could do was try to give them the respect they deserved for dying.

Suddenly, just up ahead, she could have sworn she saw one of the bodies move. Quickly, she jogged over to the pile of bodies where the movement had come from, hoping against hope that she wasn't imagining things.

She wasn't.

As she came to the pile, her eyes picked out the movement of a seemingly dead clone's arm as it slowly rotated itself. Heart in her throat, she carefully moved the other bodies away until she found the owner. His helmet had been knocked off, and there was blood covering his plastoid armor, but he was still alive, his eyes flitting all around him. As they rested on Rebecca, the man suddenly jolted and moved back, chest heaving, apparently still in the midst of post-battle trauma, flinching at every new move. She would have to take this slowly with him.

"It's okay, trooper; it's all right; you're safe now," Rebecca injected calm into her voice as she spoke softly, hoping the clone would calm down enough so she could get him some help. She continued repeating those words in a soothing voice until he finally stopped flinching away from her.

"What's your name, trooper?"

The clone swallowed nervously as he answered in a shaky, raspy voice. "It's… _Tex_ , ma'am."

Rebecca smiled reassuringly at him as she continued speaking to him soothingly. "Well, Tex, my name is Rebecca; I'm here to help you. Are you injured anywhere?"

Tex struggled to nod. He might have had a stiff neck or something. "Y-yes, ma'am. My chest and head hurt."

"All right, Tex; I'm going to call some medics, and they'll help you get to the medbay, alright?"

At his nod, Rebecca waved over a nearby clone medic as she placed her hand on his wrist, trying to feel his pulse through his gauntlet. Needless to say, she was somewhat unsuccessful in locating it through all the armor. She carefully stepped back as the medic reached the two and set to work trying to keep Tex together. After a few minutes, he stood up and addressed Rebecca.

"Commander, I think we need to call in a med-evac for him immediately; he's got internal bleeding and I can't stem the blood flow properly without all the proper equipment."

"Will he be all right?" Rebecca couldn't keep the concern out of her voice as she looked to Tex once more. The medic had given him a stim, so the pain in his eyes was dulled to a degree.

The medic sighed in defeat. "I don't know."

* * *

Rebecca stepped off the LAAT/i into the hangar bay and helped the medic accompanying her guide the gurney carrying Tex off the vehicle and out of the bay. As they hurried, Rebecca studied Tex. He had lost a bit more color in his face during the ride, but she didn't know if that was from motion sickness or blood loss. Maybe a bit of both.

She and the medic made it to the medbay in a few minutes, and, before long, Rebecca was forced to step back as several other medics clustered around the injured clone and made for the surgery room in the back. She tried not to feel left out, but she liked knowing what was going on, and, right now, the medics were less than forthcoming about whether or not Tex would pull through.

Not knowing what else to do, Rebecca walked around the medbay, looking at the injured men and the medics working on them, and tried not to panic. She passed a clone in a bacta tank; apparently, he'd had one of his arms taken off in the battle. She passed another clone who was having a bandage sprayed with bacta wrapped around one of his arms by a med droid. Then she passed a third clone, and paused. This particular clone was having a sheet draped over him by another clone medic. Curious, she called out to the medic.

"Excuse me, trooper?"

The medic warily turned to her and saluted tiredly. "Yes, Commander?"

"What did this man die of?"

The medic sighed heavily before answering. "Asphyxiation, ma'am. He'd gotten his windpipe shredded by shrapnel."

"I'm sorry, trooper."

"Not as sorry as me, I'm afraid."

Rebecca nodded and went on her way. There was nothing else she could do for the man. Eventually, she sat down on a chair by the entrance and tried not to imagine that happening to Tex. She never liked it when anybody died, particularly men such as these. Every time she had to go into battle, she always wondered if she'd come out of it alive, and, if she did, whether or not she could keep her sanity this time around.

Then, Rebecca saw one of the clone medics that had taken Tex into surgery striding toward her. She believed his name was Kix, if she wasn't wrong.

"Commander Storm?" He asked her quietly.

Rebecca had a sense of foreboding in her chest. "Yes, Kix?"

"I'm afraid that we've done all we can, but we're too late to keep him from dying. He was brought in too late to permanently help him."

Rebecca closed her eyes and sighed sadly. She should have known this would happen. She knew how easily men could be lost in battle. Yet, she still wasn't ready to prepare herself for their inevitable deaths.

Opening her eyes, she looked at Kix. "Could I see him, please?"

Kix nodded. "Yes, ma'am; follow me. He doesn't have much longer, I'm afraid."

Rebecca followed Kix to the back of the 'bay, where they'd laid Tex on one of the cots nearby, many of which were already occupied with other dead or dying men. She could feel her gut wrenching at the sight of it all. Was victory in battle really worth all this pain and suffering? And did the ones who'd died really believe in what they were fighting for?

Tex's face was paler than the last time she'd seen him, and she knew that it was from his injuries this time. His forehead was slick with sweat, and he was obviously uncomfortable.

Kix spoke to Rebecca quietly again. "The best we can do is make his passing as comfortable for him as possible, Commander. I'm sorry."

She nodded at the medic before taking a nearby chair and pulling it next to Tex's cot, sitting down on it and watching him. Slowly the clone's eyes opened and latched onto her.

"R-rebecca," he spoke tiredly to her, and she got the feeling he was just waiting to die. She smiled sadly at the dying man.

"Hi," she said, not entirely sure what to say to a man on death's doorstep. "How do you feel, Tex?"

He sighed warily as he answered her. "As well as can be, given the circumstances, ma'am."

"I'm sorry." The two sat in a silence for a while, until Rebecca mentally shook herself and told herself to do _something_ instead of just sitting there. She took out her canteen and a small cloth in her pocket, and poured the canteen water onto the cloth as Tex watched.

She then wrung out the water as well as she could in a medbay and began to dab the forehead of the man beside her, washing away the sweat and grime. He gave a start of surprise at the motion.

"Ma'am? What are you—"

"Making sure you're as comfortable as possible when you…go." Rebecca answered, her tone not leaving any room for argument. Tex shut his mouth and allowed her to keep washing his forehead.

"I am sorry, you know." Rebecca knew she had to say this to him.

Tex looked at her strangely. "For what?"

"For not finding you soon enough. If I had been quicker, you might not be in this situation." Rebecca paused in washing his forehead as she spoke, filled with guilt that this was happening to him. But then again, these kinds of things tended to happen to her a lot.

The commander was pulled out of her thoughts by feeling one of Tex's hands grasping her own. She looked at him quizzically, wanting to know why, but also being too polite to just rip her hand from his grasp. Tex coughed violently for a few moments as she continued to scrutinize him, then he opened his mouth to speak to her again.

"It's not your fault, ma'am; I doubt your finding me more quickly could have stopped this from happening anyway." She knew he was lying to her, and that it was a futile attempt to comfort her, but she allowed herself to forget that for the next few moments. She finally pocketed her washcloth and just sat by the dying man, watching him for the inevitable.

She heard her voice yet again, attempting to put the man's mind at ease. "It'll be all right soon, Tex; soon, you'll be…" Rebecca paused for a moment, unsure of how to continue. "…at peace."

Despite his difficulty between breathing and coughing, Tex managed a small smile. "I hope so, ma'am."

A few minutes later, his eyes closed and his grip on her hand went slack. As Rebecca extracted her hand from the dead body, she closed her eyes and hoped more than anything that she was right, for Tex's sake.

* * *

A few hours since the incident had gone by, Rebecca was still sitting in the mess hall, a cup of caf in her hands, but unable to take a sip of it. She was still preoccupied by the memory of the clone's death in her mind. This was why she disliked war. This was why she hadn't wanted to serve; she hadn't wanted to be tainted by darkness wars _always_ seemed to produce. Not for the first time, she wished she could get away from all of that and just be _free_ for once. However, she knew that was not an option for her. Not while she still allowed herself to be tainted by the first war she had ever fought in, during which the results of it had left her scarred and damaged for life.

She had lost the one person she loved the most, and grimly knew she could never get her back, no matter what. She hadn't realized that until it was too late to change anything.

"Rebecca?" Rex's voice pierced the room, and she turned her gaze to the door to see Rex walk in with his _kama_ swinging and helmet in hand. Despite her pain, she mentally smiled at the memory of watching clones joke about the captain's "skirt." Her pain came back to her mind, however, as the clone walked over to her table and sat down next to her. Neither of them needed to say anything to the other at the moment; they both already knew what the other was thinking. Rebecca tried to finally drink her caf, but wrinkled her nose at the taste; it had gone cold and bitter long ago.

For a few more moments, the two just sat, basking in the other's silence. Then Rex's voice sounded audibly once more. "Don't blame yourself for what happened; it wasn't your fault."

Rebecca knew better than to argue with the captain, but she couldn't stop herself from blurting out her response. "You weren't there."

Rex sighed, apparently exasperated with his friend's continued stubbornness. "Sometimes, Rebecca, things are just out of our power to control."

Rebecca shifted her gaze to Rex again. "I know, but sometimes it's…hard when the bad stuff always seems to happen to me in particular."

"Pain is a part of life, you know." Rex reprimanded her gently. "It happens to everyone."

"Yeah, I'm just one of the people that happens to get most of it," Rebecca tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice; she knew better than to live a bitter life. Rex kept silent this time, knowing that she wasn't about to let up. Rebecca returned her gaze to her caf cup and stared at the brown liquid until she detected movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up at Rex again.

He had taken a small silver object out of one of his belt pouches and was fidgeting with it. Upon closer inspection, Rebecca realized that it was a woman's ring band. It was nothing particularly gaudy or showy, just a plain silver band with a small dark blue gem. However, she was intrigued as to why Rex had it.

"Where did you get that?" Rex locked eyes with her as he stopped fidgeting with the ring and set it down on the table.

"I picked it up on the battlefield. I don't really know why I did it; I just looked at it and knew that I wanted it, so I slipped it into my belt." He grew silent again, and seemed to be debating with himself as she watched him carefully. Finally, he continued speaking, picking the ring up and holding it out. "I think…I should give it to you, Rebecca."

Rebecca blinked at him for a moment, a little bit surprised by his spontaneity. Looking into his brown eyes, she saw a…well, she wasn't entirely sure what she saw. But she could see he was trying to use the ring to distract her from what she had witnessed in the medbay. And, although she didn't wear rings, she found it a sweet gesture. Smiling softly at him, she reached out and took the ring from his fingers, slipping it into one of her own belt pouches.

"I would have it no other way, Captain Rex."

* * *

 _A/N: I hope you liked that one; I thought it would be a good idea to address the fact that you can't save everyone you know and meet sometimes._

 _Reviews are food for a fanfiction writer's soul!_

 _And I give you the title of the next chapter- Chapter 13: The Nexus Route. Anyone else think that it sounds a little familiar? ;)_


	13. Chapter 13: The Nexus Route

_A/N: One thing that had always intrigued me at the start of the Citadel arc was how Piell got the hyperspace coordinates in the first place. As a result, this idea came about. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 13: The Nexus Route**

 _21 BBY (1.0 months later)_

Rebecca's starfighter shot out of hyperspace, revealing the somewhat comforting view of a Republic cruiser in front of her. Rebecca turned on her ship's comlink and linked it with the cruiser's.

"Republic cruiser _Resolve_ , this is Commander Rebecca Storm of the Republic. I have the coordinates to the secret hyperspace lane; requesting permission to send it to you."

After a few minutes, her comm crackled. "This is Republic cruiser _Resolve_ , permission to send the secret hyperspace coordinates has been granted. You may transfer them now."

"Thank you." Rebecca pushed the button to send the coordinates to the cruiser, then carefully guided her craft into the hangar bay. As she did so, she tried not to feel uneasy about the mission. It had been relatively simple, but also relatively easy. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she couldn't stem the bad feeling in her gut.

Her boots hit the deck with a _thud_ as she jumped out of her ship to the ground, saluting to the clone soldiers there to greet her as she landed. One of them with a lieutenant's insignia on his armor walked up to her.

"Ma'am, the general and captain have requested to see you on the bridge."

Rebecca nodded at the clone as she responded, "I'll get there immediately, Lieutenant." She made her way to the bridge relatively quickly, which revealed the profiles of the Jedi General Even Piell and his infamous Captain Wilhuff Tarkin. They both turned to her expectantly.

Rebecca nodded respectively at the two. "General; Captain. I trust the transfer was successful?"

Captain Tarkin answered her. "Yes, Commander; we now have the Nexus Route coordinates. The Chancellor will be pleased by our success."

General Piell coughed under his breath. "It's not over yet, Captain Tarkin. We still have to make it back to Coruscant."

"But of course, _General_." Maybe it was Rebecca's imagination, but she could have sworn she'd heard a touch of scathing emphasis to the Jedi's title.

As she scrutinized the Human before her, she wasn't sure what to think of him. She'd read about his military tactics, and, while they were effective, she couldn't shake the bad feeling in her gut when she looked at him. He reminded her a bit of a cobra: sly, untrustworthy, and uncaring about the price of things.

General Piell seemed to be all right in her book, though. He appeared to be pretty gruff, but she could see the light in him.

"Would you care to do a mission debriefing for our benefit, Commander?" Tarkin asked her impatiently. She frowned at him, but nodded.

"Yes, Captain, I will. Now, as I'm sure you're aware of, my mission entailed—"

"General! Look!" Spinning around to face the viewport, the three officers saw something that made all their blood run cold. Two huge Separatist cruisers had just jumped out of hyperspace in front of them and were bearing down on them at a surprising amount of speed. Immediately, the General sprang into action as he yelled for the deck officer.

"Officer! How did our scanners not pick them up?"

The officer shook his head in bewilderment. "They must have jammed their signals before dropping out of hyperspace, sir. Each cruiser _alone_ is enough to take us down, though. We're outmatched!"

"We've got to get out of here!" Rebecca cried out. How could the Separatists have known where to find them? There was no way they could have known where to find the Nexus Route coordinates so quickly after her finding them. Unless…her face paled as she realized the truth.

The mission had seemed too easy because it _was_ too easy. The Separatists had probably been lying in wait for her to come and take the coordinates back to a Jedi cruiser. They must have been tracking her ship or the coordinates. _She_ had led them there. And now they were about to be slaughtered.

Her thoughts were interrupted by another clone's anxious report. "General, another Separatist cruiser has just jumped from hyperspace from behind us and is also making its way towards us."

General Piell's eyes (well, the one not closed shut, anyway) widened in disbelief as he checked the holodisplay. They were clearly outmatched by all these ships, and their practically guaranteed prize was fairly obvious to guess.

Captain Tarkin cried out above the clamor. "Send a distress signal to the Republic. NOW!"

Another clone at a console answered the captain. "I'm sorry, sir, but the enemy has already jammed our communications. We won't be able to call for help that way."

The voices suddenly died down as the enemy cruisers began their coordinated assault, damaging the ship's hyperdrive almost immediately. Rebecca tried not to think of it as the end, but she couldn't help it. Since she'd joined the war, death was almost always at the forefront of her mind. Wondering if she'd survive, or if people she knew would survive, was basically one of her hobbies at this point.

General Piell's voice brought her back to the present as he turned to her. "Commander, you must take your ship and go."

Rebecca couldn't believe it as she fixed her attention on the small Jedi. "Go? But, sir…I don't think I should leave you to fend for yourselves."

General Piell shook his head as he answered. "The Republic must know what's happening now. Don't worry; we won't let the Separatists get those coordinates. But you need to go _now_."

Rebecca nodded at him. Despite her reservations, she knew that warning the Republic of what could happen now was more important than staying to die out of a sense of guilt and obligation. She had to focus on the bigger picture, like she always had, and push her personal feelings to the side for now. She turned to leave the bridge, but hesitated as she watched part of the _Resolve_ burst into flames outside. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to leave.

Shaking her head, she quickly walked out of the bridge and made her way back to her ship, having to stop every now and then or risk crashing into the walls or other people as the ship rocked around her, threatening to collapse from all the excessive damage it was taking. She made it to the bay just as a number of Separatist boarding ships forced themselves into the hangar. As the first squad of droids disembarked and began to attack, Rebecca activated her lightsaber and hacked the silver sword through the droids, making her way to her ship afterwards.

As she climbed into the ship, she saw more boarding parties coming for the clones. It hurt, but she knew she couldn't stop now. She had to warn the Republic before it was too late. She quickly activated her ship and expertly piloted out of the cruiser and into the firefight currently going on. She desperately dodged the laser barrages as she tried to make it out into space further in order to make the jump to hyperspace. Her craft rattled as a vulture droid exploded by her, but she managed to make quick work of any threatening droids from a distance and finally made it past the carnage. As she set the nav computer, she stole one last glance back at the _Resolve_ , before steeling herself and jumping to hyperspace.

* * *

Rebecca walked into the hangar bay and paused, taking the time to watch the Jedi and clone soldiers prepare for the upcoming mission to the Citadel to rescue Master Piell. As she watched Anakin's droid prepare the liberated Separatist ship, she couldn't help but feel as though she should go along. The Citadel mission was certain to be a perilous journey for those going. Her gaze swept over to the 501st Captain readying his troops. She worried about him, sometimes, when there wasn't a battle to be fought or a mission to occupy all her thoughts or the fear of returning to Kalifa to live a lie. She could tell that his faith in the Republic was deteriorating, slowly, but surely. And she was worried about what he would do when that faith inevitably disappeared for good. What would happen then? If he decided he couldn't trust the system he'd been bred to protect at any and all costs, what would happen? She'd heard whispers of clones who had turned into…how had the phrase been put? Oh, yes…"traitorous scum-bags unfit to scrape the mud from their own boots."

She'd heard about those clones and how their faith in the Republic had been utterly destroyed. She wasn't certain what actually happened to those clones, but she was certain that the resulting punishments hadn't been pretty. Whatever fate awaited traitors, she knew she didn't want Rex to take any part in it.

Without thinking, she suddenly strode over to her friend as he turned to her with a softened gaze in his eyes.

"Everything all set, Captain?" The softness abruptly disappeared as he became _Captain_ Rex once more, instead of just _Rex_ , someone who seemed to be seen for briefer and briefer periods of time whenever she and he crossed paths.

"Yes, Commander, we're all ready for the Citadel." He slipped his helmet over his head as he spoke, ready for battle.

Rebecca couldn't stop the pinprick of fear from her next sincere words. "Be careful, Rex; the Citadel's one of the most secure Separatist prisons in the galaxy. It is not known for its survival rate."

Rex shuffled on his feet as though unsure of what to say (with his helmet on, it was anyone's guess to his current line of thinking). "I-it's alright, ma'am." He coughed for a moment before going on. "We'll be back with the General before you know it."

Rebecca smiled uncertainly, still unable to tamper down her sense of foreboding. "I hope so."

She extended her palm out to him for a farewell handshake. His gloved hand grasped it firmly for a minute before he extracted it back and made for Generals Skywalker and Kenobi. Nervously, Rebecca stroked the gem on her necklace before heading out of the bay, ready for her next mission.

* * *

 _A/N: Oh, I almost forgot: Thanks to the people who decided to follow, fave, or review my story; I really appreciate it._

 _Reviews are food for a fanfiction writer's soul!_

 _And up next: Chapter 14: Umbara (cue the dun dun dun's)!_


	14. Chapter 14: Umbara

_A/N: This story delves a bit into Rebecca's backstory, and brings a little to light about her...inner pain. Enjoy (or cry; it's quite sad. At least I hope it's sad.)! Also, thank you to all who reviewed, faved, followed, et cetera since the last time I updated; it's much appreciated._

 ** _EDIT: As of March 17, 2018, I have edited some of the content of this chapter due to future inconsistencies. The line breaks for this edit is now also different due to the recent disappearance of the line break button in the Document Manager file._**

o-o-o-o

 **Chapter 14: Umbara**

 _21 BBY (1.5 months later)_

Rebecca deflected an energy bolt with her silver lightsaber, determined to reach her goal with the rest of the Republic troops. She'd been fighting with the soldiers for several days now, trying to take the capital of Umbara with General Tinn. They had finally made it past the capital gates after a lot of carnage, and were now trying to meet up with General Kenobi's troops, who had also forced their way into the capital.

She grimly watched as another clone went down from the constant fire around her, but knew she couldn't help him; he was already gone. The Umbarans were increasingly resourceful people, not just with their weapons, but also with their battle tactics. She estimated that maybe a quarter of the company she was with had been killed, but it was probably a much bigger number.

The smoke surrounded her, making it increasingly difficult to make out the shapes around her. One of them rushed at her, and she reacted on instinct, swiftly flipping the Umbaran over her shoulder and shooting her pistol at his chest, killing him instantly. She knew she should have felt bad about it, but she just couldn't. The war had forced her to fight without remorse for her actions in the heat of battle. When the adrenaline stopped coursing through her veins, she knew she'd feel the regret, but that was then, and this was _now_.

Her sixth sense started tingling just as she heard the shout, but she couldn't stop fighting; there were too many Umbarans to pause.

"Commander! Look out!" Rebecca never noticed the bomb until it went off, spewing shrapnel and other bodies in the ensuing explosion. As her body flew through the air, she felt the searing pain shooting through her body before it all went black.

o-o-o-o

Four thousand, nine hundred sixty-two deaths.

Four thousand, nine hundred sixty-two _wasted_ deaths.

Deaths that could have been avoided if he'd been quicker to act, realized it sooner, and taken down that monster, who had, of all things, _laughed_ as he'd sliced up Rex's brothers with his lightsabers. Like they were nothing more than simple toys he'd grown bored with. He'd deserved to die.

And yet, when the time came, he just _couldn't_ do it. He couldn't kill Krell, no matter how much he hated the man for using him. For sending his own brothers to their deaths; for tricking him into _killing_ his own brothers.

Rex ran his gloved hand over his scalp as he finalized the casualty report and sent it in to command. He should go down to the medbay to see how the men were doing, but he didn't want to look into their weary eyes and see the disappointment in them. He couldn't put it off forever, though. He had to go.

The first thing the clone captain noticed as he stepped into the 'bay was the chaos around him as various droids and clone medics flitted from clone to clone, doing their best to allay their pain and injuries. Even more than four hours after the battle ended and Umbara surrendered, there were still so many injured men to contend with. His fist clenched at the unfairness of it all.

These men deserved better. They shouldn't have to go through all this pain and suffering. Yes, he knew it was all for the benefit of the Republic, but...he didn't even know for certain if that really meant anything anymore. Maybe it did once, but now...he just didn't know. He wasn't certain about anything anymore.

"Captain!" Rex looked up and saw Kix striding toward him at a breakneck pace. He nodded at his friend and comrade.

"Kix, how are things faring in here so far? Any of the injured being particularly difficult?" At his words, Kix paused and looked at him strangely.

"You mean...you don't know about Commmander Storm, sir?"

Rex's brow furrowed as his stomach churned uncomfortably. Rebecca was...here? He thought that she had been deployed with another company; why was she here?

Rex spoke, trying not to give away his uneasiness. "No, what about her?"

Kix sighed warily as he answered his captain. "During the battle, Commander Storm got caught in an explosion and was evacuated from the battle in critical condition. We got her because our ship was the closest to her position at the time. The medics that were present did all that they could, but...well, she just got out of surgery, and we're not sure if she'll make it. It could go either way for her at this point, and her injuries are just so severe. I'm sorry, Captain."

Rex's mind went blank at the implication of the medic's words and the unspoken word searing his mind.

 _Dying._

In the year that he had known her, even though she was a strong, capable warrior, he had easily forgotten one crucial detail: she was not immortal. She was not invincible. It was so easy for him to see her strength that he had pushed aside the fact that even she was not immune to the disasters of war.

But now, it was glaringly obvious. She might be dying while he stood there. She could have died, and he would have never known about it if he hadn't come into the medbay when he had.

"Take me to her," he finally choked out amidst his shock and the tightening pain in his chest. He blindly followed Kix through the 'bay, not really paying attention to what was happening around him as he thought of Rebecca Storm. When Kix finally punched open the keycode to her door, he was not prepared for what he saw.

Rebecca Storm lay still on the bed, skin pale, with a breathing mask over her mouth, and bandages covering various burns and injuries on her arms, upper body, and face. She looked so _weak_. She looked like she was already dead.

After all he'd been through, after all he'd lost, it looked like he was going to lose her, too.

Rex stepped into the room, not even noticing that Kix had left, and collapsed into a nearby chair, too emotionally compromised to see straight, let alone think properly. He ran his hand tiredly over his face as he watched his friend fight for her life, albeit quietly. Unable to keep himself composed any longer, he closed his eyes and finally let the tears silently slide down his face.

 _How could I let this happen?_

o-o-o-o

Rex stared at the wall in his quarters dejectedly. It had been a week since the capture of Umbara, and the _Resolute_ was one of several starships left to guard the planet in case the Separatists attempted to re-take it or the Umbarans rose up in retaliation again.

But he couldn't let go of what had happened on Umbara; how foolish he had been during the battle. Because of his refusal to act, so many lives were lost. He couldn't forgive himself for that mistake. He couldn't treat those deaths like they had never happened.

A knock on the door interrupted his musing. Rex took a moment to mentally prepare himself before opening the door to the last person he expected to see.

"Hello, Rex." Rebecca Storm smiled uncertainly at him as he felt his mouth drop open in disbelief. Amidst all the work on the ship he had to do, he had spent most of his time keeping his bedside vigil by Rebecca, waiting for her to pull through, since the medics had decided that she was going to be fine. When he had left several hours ago, she had still been in a coma, though her wounds had healed nicely. Apparently she had just gotten discharged.

"Could I...come in?" Rebecca asked, eyes darting to Rex's with a touch of uncertainty written across her face. He didn't know why she was there, but he knew that he didn't want to be without her in that moment. Nodding his head, he stepped back and let her in before closing the door and walking over to sit on his bed.

Looking closely, he saw that she hadn't fully healed yet; she was limping slightly and wore some bandages on her arm, as well as sporting a few bruises and not-yet healed burns on her face, but her violet eyes still shone brightly with life. She wore her regular attire of clothing with dark colors, like her brown jacket and black pants. She held herself with a cautious air, as though not quite sure why she had come.

"Is there anything you need, Rebecca?" Rex asked patiently, his mask of calm sliding over his face once again. He didn't want her to see him the way he was feeling then.

"I...heard what happened to you while you were on Umbara, and I thought you might want to talk." Rebecca said nervously as she wrung her gloved hands together.

Immediately, Rex froze. No, no, no. He didn't want her to know how bad a mistake he'd made during the battle. Maybe it was selfish of him, but he cared what she thought of him, and he didn't want their friendship tarnished by his decisions. And yet...he looked into her eyes and saw that, maybe, just maybe, she understood his problem. Leaning back from where he was seated on the bed, he tiredly ran his hand over his head as he began.

"At first, it seemed like Umbara would be like any other battle, even if their technology was more advanced than ours. We were all doing fine, until General Skywalker was called away and Krell took his place. Then it all started going wrong. Everything we ever did under his command, was because he wanted us to _die_. Every last one of us, so the Republic wouldn't be able to take the planet. And I was a _fool_." He couldn't keep the self-loathing tone out of his voice as he went on, barely noticing the soft creak of the bed as Rebecca sat next to him while he continued to rant. "I knew what he was doing was wrong, but I was too short-sighted and trusting to believe he'd intentionally try to betray us. A _Jedi_ would never do that. But I ignored _everything_ until it was almost too late. Until I almost let two of my _own_ men get wrongfully executed and _murdered_ my own _brothers_. How could I have been so _stupid_?!"

As he finally finished, he looked over at Rebecca and was surprised to see her sitting back against the wall, with her eyes closed and tears rolling down her cheeks. As she opened her eyes again, he was immediately thrashed by the sheer and utter pain in them. He thought that she would hate him for what happened; he knew that she thought family was extremely important in life. But she didn't look mad. She just looked...heartbroken.

Rebecca turned her head toward him, and he was not prepared for what came out of her mouth next. "Yeah, well...you're not the only one, I'm afraid."

Rex's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?" She...she couldn't really know what he'd been through on that planet, could she?

Rebecca sighed sadly, swiping her hand across the tear tracks on her face, and asked him a question. "I never told you about Violet, did I?"

Now Rex was even more confused. First, she said that he wasn't alone in his pain, and then she completely changed the subject. That was...confusing. Nevertheless, he decided it might be better if he just played along for now.

"No. Who is Violet?"

Rebecca let out a bitter laugh as she answered, face etched with pain. "More like who _was_ Violet, actually. Violet was my older sister and my best friend."

Rex got the feeling that there was more to this story than she was telling him, based on the conflicting emotions on her face. "What happened to her?"

"She died," Rebecca said shortly, voice tight with concealed emotion. Looking at her, he saw that her eyes were getting glassy, as though she was going to cry again.

"I'm sorry," Rex said, and he truly was. He knew better than anyone how difficult it was to lose family members. However, she seemed to get even more upset as he spoke, pulling her legs up and wrapping her arms around them. She shook her head as she began to stare at the wall across the room.

"You shouldn't be, though, Rex. She...wasn't well at the time."

Rex looked at Rebecca quizzically. "What do you mean?"

Rebecca closed her eyes for a moment, as though she were composing herself, before speaking again. "Violet and my mother had...always had problems for as long as I can remember, but it was normally just about trivial things, like who should wash the dishes. But, when my sister turned thirteen years old...that's when the trouble began. Violet thought that she should be entitled to make her own decisions and forge her own path away from our mother's legacy, but my mother was protective of Violet, and kept refusing to. Eventually, it ended in a big fight when Violet was fifteen, and she left to make her own life at the Kalifan Capital. When I went to visit her, though, she seemed...different. Like, oh, I don't know, like...some of her light was going out or something. I was only thirteen, though, and I didn't think too much of it. But looking back now...now I can see the signs of Violet's descent to a darker path in life."

Rex tilted his head quizzically. "A darker path?"

Rebecca nodded solemnly as she continued. "Yeah. Anyway, after that visit, she disappeared for a few months, and when she came back, she...she wasn't the same." Rebecca seemed to be struggling for more words as she tried to continue. "She...well, to put it bluntly, she...she killed our mother in cold blood. Said she was doing to set me free from our mother's trap, and that she was protecting me with her power." At her words, tears started to trail down her face again. "And right afterwards...she literally burned our hometown to the ground, along with practically everyone living in it at the time."

Rex was shocked. He had never expected anything like _that_ to happen to his friend. He knew she'd been through a lot; he just didn't realize what she had really been through.

"Did...she get what she wanted?" Rex spoke carefully, trying to gauge Rebecca's reaction.

She chuckled sadly. "In a way...she got more power, but she also wanted me to come with her and join her, and when I refused, she decided it would be better if she killed me rather than try to keep me alive. I got away, though," she spoke up quickly when she saw Rex's face darken with anger, "I got away, and I tried to rebuild my life, but I just couldn't let her keep destroying so many innocent people. She started building a criminal empire and going by the name 'Pyra,' too. And I...I killed her."

At Rebecca's final sentence, silence enveloped the room as Rex processed her words. She...killed her own sibling.

Just like he had.

"You killed her." Rex's voice was dead in the cabin.

Rebecca nodded slowly. "It had to be done. She would have killed so many more people, and she would have never changed. It wasn't in her." She sounded a lot like she was trying to convince herself instead of Rex.

Uncertainly, Rex extended his arm around Rebecca as her tears continued to fall, pressing her into his side. Though stiffening at first, she relented and leaned against her friend.

"Why did you tell me this?" From the way she'd been acting, Rex assumed she definitely didn't like to talk about her sister. And yet, she had decided to tell him.

Rebecca sighed as she lay her head on his shoulder. "Because you need to know you're not alone in these things, and that I'm here for you. Honestly, though, I had hoped that I wouldn't have to tell you."

"But you did anyway."

"Yeah...I did. And...I needed to talk to _someone_ about it. I'm glad it was you, though."

"I'm glad, too." For a few moments, silence enveloped the couple. Then Rex spoke up again. "Does it ever get easier?"

Rebecca looked up at him, the top of her head brushing his chin as she locked eyes with him. When that happened, time seemed to stop for the clone captain. All that he could see was Rebecca. Unconsciously, his eyes flicked down to her lips, then back to her violet eyes. It struck him then how truly beautiful she was. Not just on the outside, but on the inside, too. And he didn't know what to do about what he was feeling right then.

"No, I don't think it does." Her head nestled itself underneath his chin as she tiredly spoke, as though life itself was draining away her strength. Rex suddenly felt uncomfortable and flustered. What this was, it was...troubling to him. It was unknown. He needed to put some distance between the two of them, to give them something stable to stand on again. Rex went to remove his arm from around his friend, but her hand shot up and stopped him. Her eyes connected with his again as she tilted her head up, showcasing the tears filming her eyes. "Please...just hold me?" Her voice was wavery and vulnerable, as though she was afraid he'd leave her. Sighing, Rex knew he couldn't say no to her. Not anymore.

Rex's pain was still there. Maybe it always would be there. But right then, with Rebecca leaning up against him, the pain seemed to lessen, and his chest felt lighter. Whatever this was, even if it was unknown, it seemed to help him. Pulling her closer, Rex basked in Rebecca's soothing presence. He didn't have to say a word, and neither did she. Both already knew what the other was thinking.

o-o-o-o

 _(Fours years ago)_

 _The blizzard continued to pelt away at her, getting worse and worse as the flakes hit her skin, feeling more like blaster bolts instead of snow. The wind whipped furiously around her as she continued to trudge through the forest, desperate to find her sis-no, that_ monster _, and put a stop to her for good this time._

 _Up ahead, she could see a dark light coming from a clearing, it looked like. She picked up the pace, but kept going quietly, so as not to alert her enemy. Edging to the edge of the clearing, she saw_ her _. Pyra herself, the black cloak covering her rustling in the wind and snow. She was kneeling in the middle of the clearing, where she had created a glowing black circle around herself, decorated with symbols of magic. Black lightning crackled and simmered from the circle, and Rebecca looked around the witch, searching for her weakness._

 _And there, outside of the circle, she saw it stabbed halfway through the ground: the Dark Blade of Scrios Bas, the First Dark Magician. She couldn't believe it; victory was practically at her fingertips. She couldn't believe that her own flesh and blood would be so stupid as to leave her most prized possession out in the open for just anyone. It was almost over._

And when it's over, you will regret it for all your days _, a voice sounding suspiciously like Dakota Farthing whispered in her ear. Rebecca pushed that unbidden thought away; there was no time for thinking. She had to...to do what she had come to do._

 _Kill the witch Pyra._

But when you kill her, you'll kill yourself, too. _Rebecca immediately locked that thought away in her mind, not wanting to be distracted. What did Dakota Farthing know, anyway? Sure, she'd been through some stuff, but so had Rebecca. Just because Dakota was the Phoenix Magician didn't mean she knew_ everything _._

Just the important things. _Rebecca didn't care. It_ had _to end, right then and there. She didn't care...she didn't. All that mattered was helping her people._

 _Crouching down low, Rebecca crept silently into the clearing. Pyra's back was to her, so she wouldn't see her unless she turned around. The sword was forty feet away...then thirty...twenty..._

 _At ten feet from the sword, Rebecca saw a crackle of movement out of the corner of her eye and leaped to the side. A good thing, too, because black lightning suddenly struck the spot where she had been only a moment ago. Pyra flinched and turned around to face her enemy. Rebecca was not ready for the punch in the gut at seeing_ her _again, face-to-face._

 _Rebecca hadn't seen Pyra in person since she had burned down her hometown and killed her mother over three years ago. The thought spoke again in her mind,_ This is your _sister_ , no matter how much you deny it _, but Rebecca pushed it aside again. She just had to get through the next moments, and then...then everything would be fine. It had to be._

 _Pyra looked...well, terrible. The color had leeched from her normally tanned skin, giving it a pale, sallow color, which was a stark contrast to the long, dark hair whipping around with the blizzard wind. A glass pendant in the shape of a wolf hung on her neck from a chain, glowing in a white light as it whipped with the wind. Her face, which had once been beautiful, looked hollow, with her features sunken in like a corpse, with dark shadows under her eyes. And her eyes...her dark eyes locked onto Rebecca's, forcing her to read the story in the eyes of the_ diabla _. She couldn't look away._

 _And she saw...complete and utter pain and hopelessness within the madness, and a heartfelt plea that was saying,_ Kill me now, _please._

 _Well, Rebecca would just have to grant that wish. That was what she was there to do: her duty._

 _Then the young dark sorceress's eyes hardened, locking away the vulnerability, and her face twisted into a hideous sneer as she raised a hand to shield her eyes from Rebecca's aura of light, apparently, according to Pyra. The black lightning crackled and hissed as her eyes glowed with an insane light._

 _"Well, the Lone Wolf is here to end me, I see." Pyra's voice grew harsher with anger in every word. "I figured as much; after all, a person willing to betray her own_ sister _is willing to do anything that had once seemed to be against her moral code. Such a_ hipocrita _."_

 _"Oh, you're one to talk," Rebecca scoffed, looking at the older girl with hate in her eyes. "You're the one who went against_ everything _she ever knew for the sake of power."_

 _"That power was meant to be used to_ protect _you, girl!" Pyra screeched, midnight blue eyes literally glowing in a red tinge. "And I didn't betray_ anyone _; my eyes were opened to the light, unlike_ you _! It was_ your _fault!"_

 _"My fault?!" Rebecca said incredulously, wondering how she could have ever even remotely thought of this..._ thing _, as her best friend. "I didn't ask for you to do that; I didn't_ ask _for you to kill everyone and everything! I_ never _wanted that; it was all on you! And this ends now!"_

 _With that cry, she lunged for the sword and grabbed it by the hilt before her enemy could react. For a moment, she was stunned by the power she could feel emanating from the blade. For those few seconds, she could see why Pyra had been tempted to grasp it. But she was better than her. And it had to end then and there. With all her strength, and silently pouring all her magic into breaking the strength of the sword, she pushed the blade further into the ground and forced the hilt to the side, snapping the sword in two in the process. Immediately, the black lightning ceased and Pyra began to scream violently with a banshee cry that could have split the planet in two (if her magic circle wasn't already trying to do that). Falling to her side, Pyra began to writhe as the power and spirit of the First Dark Magician left her and dissipated rapidly into the slowing winds._

 _Rebecca looked around, waiting for the catch. Snow continued to fall, but, since the wind had ceased, there was a beauty to it. The forest was peaceful again as the dark magic left once more. Things seemed to be all right, but she knew that it wasn't. It never could be, not until she ended things._ Permanently _. And the only way to do that...was with what was left of the Dark Blade._

Her power is derived from that sword of hers, girl. The more pain and devastation created, the more power the First Dark Magician's spirit receives and transfers to her, feeding off the chaos and turmoil. It also sustains her life force, so even if you fatally wound her, the sword will keep her alive, using her negative emotions to fuel her life. You must break that blade so the Dark Magician's spirit cannot possess you like it did her when _she_ grasped it, all those years ago, and so the power will be cut off from her. Then, you must take what's left and kill her with it. It's the only way to get permanent peace and safety. Understand? Or do you wish for her to continue slaughtering the rest of your magical kind?

 _Rebecca remembered that conversation with Daku. She knew he was right, but she also knew he had his own agenda for telling her that._

All that matters is taking care of the current threat, right here and now. Just _do_ it.

 _Hefting the jagged Dark Blade (more like a Dark Dagger then, actually) in her hand, Rebecca approached Pyra, who was still reeling from the current loss of most of her dark magic, lying on the ground. She breathed shallowly, in and out, her eyes opening to see Rebecca. Strangely, though, as Rebecca stood in front of her, she didn't retaliate. That vulnerability the younger magician had seen before was then etched on Pyra's face. Crouching down, Rebecca looked at her worst enemy._

 _The moment of truth._

 _Then Pyra spoke, a strange softness to her gaze. "Well, aren't you going to do it,_ hermana _?" Her wolf pendant seemed to glow even brighter with those words._

 _Rebecca's jaw clenched in anger at how effortlessly the witch called her by that endearment. She wasn't allowed to do that anymore._

 _"I'm not your sister," Rebecca growled out, anger tinting her vision red as she stabbed in ex-sister in the ribs. Immediately afterward, it was as if everything was clear again. Rebecca looked at the witch again, but she didn't see the monster. She saw her sister._

What have I done?

 _Rebecca hurriedly pulled the dagger out of Violet's side and flung it to the ground as she gathered her sister up in her arms, pulling off her own cloak to try to stem the bleeding, trying to keep the tears from falling. It couldn't be happening. It couldn't end. Not like that. But it was too late. As her tears fell on the older girl's face, Violet's breathing grew more shallow, but her hand shakily came up and caressed the younger's face one last time. Through the tears, Rebecca could see the faint hint of a smile before Violet's eyes closed for the last time and her hand fell limply to the side. Her pendant glowed more brightly as she did so and turned midnight blue._

 _"No, not like this," Rebecca breathed out, wishing with all she had that she had made things right, that she could have looked at things like Dakota had. But she didn't, and then the price was being paid._

 _Pressing her older sister's body closer to her own as her heart broke, Rebecca began to sob. She wanted to take it back. She wanted to go back. She wanted to say goodbye. She wanted to say that she had always loved her. She wanted to say she was sorry. But it was too late._

 _Nothing in the past can be undone._

o-o-o-o

 _A/N: So...was anyone expecting that to be part of Rebecca's past? I hoped that flashback scene was pretty heartbreaking for you, and that you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it. Don't worry if you were left with more questions than answers, though, because they will all be answered in due time._

 _I've also started thinking about giving my main OCs character theme songs. Rebecca's theme song is "Brothers," by Hans Zimmer from the movie_ Pearl Harbor _. You might (or probably will) want to listen to that to get a feel for her (and it'll probably make you cry, too). You can also listen to the rest of the soundtrack; Hans Zimmer was a genius at scoring it._

 _hipcrita=hypocrite; diabla=devil; hermana=sister_

 _Scrios and bas are words I got from Google Translate; they mean destruction and death in Irish. Hey, I needed_ something _for the Dark Magician guy's name, and I wanted to be unique. Also daku is Japanese for "dark," just to give you a heads-up._

 _I warn you, though, after this chapter, my muse sort of got burned out regarding chapter ideas, so it may be a while before I manage to update again (also, I still have my grueling college class to work on. Blech.)._

 _So, anyway, reviews are food for a fanfiction writer's soul! Please leave a review on this chapter (I'd really like to know what you think about this one, since it's basically my biggest chapter!)!_


	15. Chapter 15: Hiatus

Okay, so I know I said that I wouldn't be updating until after a certain class of mine was over, but you seriously shouldn't be expecting any new updates until sometime in the next year. I'm way behind on my schoolwork, plus my muse is running dry for chapter ideas (except for the end, of course) lately. So there probably won't be any new updates until January or February of the year 2017. There's just too much going on right now, and I finally decided to put this thing on an official hiatus for the rest of the year until I can spare some time and imagination. Be patient, and see you next year!


	16. Chapter 16: Nightmares

_A/N: I felt the need for more of Rebecca's backstory coming out, if not for the characters, at least for the readers. Also, Happy New Year, everyone! Here's a new chapter to ring in the year!_

* * *

 **Chapter 15: Nightmares**

 _20 BBY (3.5 months later)_

* * *

 _Even hours after the death of her sister, the snow was still falling, and the skies were still gray, as though the world was mourning Violet along with her. Rebecca trudged through the snow, easily leaving her tracks behind her as she set out for the clearing. There was still one more thing she needed to do before she finally headed home_ _—_ _or, at least, what she'd thought of as home for the last few years or so. She shifted the heavy, hard bundle in her arms as she went on to the clearing, trying to keep herself composed. She couldn't afford to break down. Not yet, anyway._

 _She finally made it to the clearing; the place where her life had forever changed. Where she had killed her sister. A shiver rippled down her spine as she saw where Violet's magic circle had been. She walked over to a particular spot that was now sprouting silver lilies and dropped her package into the snow. Using a trowel, she carefully dug about a foot of earth in a straight line about an inch or so deep from the ground, then she slid the gravestone into the hole she'd dug into the flower patch. The heading of the stone read "Violet Storm" in block letters._

 _It was the least she could do to remember her by._

 _Standing up, Rebecca stared at the gravestone and the lilies. She remembered how Violet had loved flowers and gardening. She would have loved to have the legendary silver lily that was now sprouting itself around her gravestone in a vast multitude. Before everything changed, Violet had gone away to the capital city to start a life, and had gotten a job at a flower shop. Rebecca had thought that she'd loved her job._

 _She sank to her knees and placed a hand on the stone as she felt tears begin to gather again. She'd done this. She'd caused this. This was all her fault. And she hated herself for it. She hated her stubbornness, she hated her temper, and she hated how she'd deluded herself into thinking that what she'd done to Violet was_ right _._

" _Fancy seeing you here, girl." Rebecca's head shot up and whipped around to see Daku calmly walking up to her, his dark blonde hair contrasting with his olive skin and obsidian eyes. He carried a simple rose in his hand. For some reason, she wasn't surprised to see the Dark Magician at this particular spot. Why should she be? She'd expected him to be positively elated at the thought of Violet's death. And she could practically see the smugness in his façade, calm as it appeared._

" _Daku," she spoke with no small amount of malice in her tone, eyes hardening into stone. "Come to gloat at last, I see."_

 _He paused beside her and placed his rose in front of Violet's gravestone. "Actually, I've simply come to pay my respects to your dearly departed sister. Despite our…history, a Dark Magician always holds respect for another servant of darkness. She was good at carrying out the mission. She will be missed and held in reverence among my kind."_

" _And the fact that I managed to kill someone who would have turned on you eventually has nothing to do with why you're here?" Rebecca said incredulously. "Please, we both know better."_

 _Daku calmly regarded her. "It had to be done, I'm afraid; after all, a Dark Magician can never fully trust another Dark Magician."_

 _Rebecca smiled darkly at him. "Oh, yes, you dark magic-wielders, who were so desperate to destroy the Light Magicians that you tricked and corrupted the first-born daughter of the First Phoenix Magician so she would do the work for you."_

" _Well, you know me; I don't like to get my hands dirty if I can help it," Daku retorted, dark humor coloring his words. "And I'm also waiting for the thank-you holo from you, too, you know."_

 _Rebecca inhaled carefully as she turned her face back to the gravestone. She couldn't afford to lose her temper around him, of all people. "Oh, yes, the thank-you note from me to you," she retorted sarcastically. "Well, excuse me while I compose it: Dear Daku, thanks for telling me all about the sword that my sister holds that can also kill her if broken in exchange for leaving you alone and letting you do whatever the heck Dark Magicians like to do when they're not busy starting cults and ripping planets in half. Oh, and thank_ you _for helping place her on that path in the first place so you could destroy the majority of the Light Magicians as well as the First Phoenix Magician herself."_

" _Well, that was our deal, and you know the law: a magician cannot break a deal made with another magician, be they dark or light practitioners. So don't think on going back on it now," his voice growing hard. "We both know what happens to those who break the laws of magic."_

" _Indeed," Rebecca spat out glaringly. The wrath of the Phoenix was not something anybody wanted to mess with, no matter how crazy they might be, no matter how desperate they were._

" _However, I'm also here to tell you something. You remember that I told you there would be a price for getting what you want, yes?"_

 _Rebecca laughed bitterly. "My sister's already dead. What other price could there possibly be?"_

 _Daku smiled, seemingly sympathetically. "Well, there was that, yes, but there was also another price. Because you killed the person you loved the most with the darkest of weapons, a curse was unleashed upon you."_

" _A curse?" At the moment, Rebecca didn't care that she was now cursed, even though the hair on the back of her neck stood up from instinct at his chilling tone. She was still wallowing in her grief and shock. And if the curse was painful, then so be it. She deserved to be punished for what she did. "And what, might I ask, does this curse do?"_

" _This curse will never let you forget the pain you feel from this day. It will always follow you to your grave, and then, once you die, it will pass on to your offspring. There will always be a hole in your heart, and there will be a hole in theirs."_

 _Suddenly, the setting changed from snow-covered plains at night to beautiful grassy meadows at high noon. Rebecca was riding a chestnut brown horse through the forest, her long hair flying out behind her. She did her best to stay in the saddle; it had taken her a while to figure out how to keep from falling out of it. Since she had gotten the hang of riding, she found that she enjoyed this as one of her favorite pastimes. Finally slowing her horse down into a trot, then a walk, she took in the sparkling blue lake in front of her, and the figure waiting on the dock. She tied her horse next to his, then walked up to him and sat next to him, feet dangling at the dock's end._

" _Well, well, what do we have here? A stable hand, far, far from his stable." She spoke mischievously, eyes sparkling with amusement._

 _He smiled joyously at her as he answered, blue eyes sparkling just as mischievously. "Well, what can I say? There was a girl who was just dying for me to show her this lake, and I just couldn't say no to a pretty face."_

" _Oh, she was pretty, was she?" Rebecca shot back with a sly smile, willing to play along with him._

 _He nodded. "Oh, yes, she was very beautiful. One of the most beautiful girls I've laid eyes on."_

 _She rolled her eyes at his cheesy compliment, but couldn't help but smile at his sincerity. "You know, you have quite a way with words,_ señor _. I wouldn't be surprised if you became some sort of radio host or something."_

" _So you're saying that you actually like my pick-up lines, now, hmmm?" He asked cheekily as a slight breeze ruffled his black hair._

 _Rebecca couldn't help but laugh at his question. Truth be told, he never used pick-up lines with her; he never needed to. She didn't even need to talk to him to like him; she just liked being with him. He had helped her start to heal from her pain of the past. She felt like, besides Dakota, he was pretty much the only person she could really trust. And_ he _wasn't the one that disappeared for one week once a month with no direct explanation, just that she had "something I need to do."_

 _Looking out over the water of the lake, Rebecca smiled at the serene beauty of the nature around her. She loved the vibrant colors in the springtime; they were just so beautiful, and they helped her hope for things to get better one day in a galaxy of chaos. It helped her forget her own pain._

 _Looking over at him, she couldn't help herself and, with a sly smile, abruptly pushed him off the dock into waters below. He came up sputtering in indignation instantly, and she couldn't help but laugh merrily at how silly he looked, with water dripping down his face._

" _Oh, so you think this is funny, now, do you? Well, let's see how much_ you _like it, then." He grabbed her ankle unexpectedly and pulled her down into the lake with him as he laughed at her own surprise._

 _Looking at him as she came up, Rebecca couldn't stay mad at him for pulling her into the lake. She laughed with him, the happiest she had been since she'd fled her hometown with Dakota. When she was with him, he just helped the pain go away, and she loved him for it. She hooked her arms around his neck and, pulling him close, she pressed her lips to his. She couldn't help but giggle as his laughter abruptly faltered at her boldness. Pulling away, he smiled happily at her before pulling her back in for another kiss, their laughter in between ringing throughout the forest._

 _Then the scene blurred and changed again to night in the city. She was sitting on a bench in a garden labyrinth, with a green tree shading her head, attempting to read a holopad in the lamplight. Before long, she heard a person's footsteps on the gravel path. She ducked her head deeper into her 'pad, trying to remain unseen. She didn't want to do this. But she knew she had to. He deserved his own closure about her, and she wanted her chance to say goodbye. A chance she never had with her sister._

 _He passed by her, oblivious to her presence, and leaned against the railing in the labyrinth, looking out at the lights of the city. Carefully, she lowered her 'pad and scrutinized him from her position. He looked…happy. He was smiling like he had just won the lottery. And she knew why. Because he'd moved on._

 _She was glad that he was happy, she really was. But it also hurt knowing that she wasn't the one who made him happy anymore._

 _For a moment, she was tempted to just get up and leave. She had no right to him anymore, after all, and it was clear that he was completely happy with his life. She didn't want to uproot it with her unexpected appearance. It was clear that he didn't need her in his life._

 _And yet…she thought back to all the times in_ her _life, after her town's subsequent destruction, when she had led a quiet life, before Violet had popped back up out of the shadows. She remembered the pain in her life, and the wish for just one more day with her family, before it all changed. One more day to say goodbye. Even when she had been actually happy, she had still wished for that. She had eventually gotten it, but she had deluded herself too much to savor the time with her sister. To at least_ try _to help her fight the dark magic inside of her._

 _She had a feeling that, if she didn't do this, he would always have her memory hanging over him, and he would always wonder. She would always be his biggest what-if. So she had to do this._

 _She internally braced herself for the impact her return would most likely have on him, and strode up by his side. He didn't notice her at first, until she spoke up._

" _Beautiful night, isn't it?" He jerked suddenly, obviously recognizing her voice, though it had been several months since he'd last heard it. He turned his head cautiously, as though afraid to see if his suspicion was correct, his confusion giving way to shock when he locked eyes with her._

" _Re-rebecca?" He sputtered when he recognized her, hands clenching the rail as he spoke. She tried not to think that he was doing that to hide his anger from her, though she knew rationally it was most likely more from the shock._

 _She smiled sadly, shakily at him. "It's been a long time,_ señor _."_

" _H-how_ _—_ _where_ _—_ _I_ _—" He was still trying to form complete sentences through his hazy shock, finally managing to gasp out one coherent sentence. "I thought you were dead!"_

 _Silence fell over the two at those words, as he stared at her, his blue eyes drinking her in like he couldn't get enough. He shakily brought his hand up and cautiously touched her face, as though he was making sure she was real. A small smile graced his features, and Rebecca knew, if this were a holovid, exactly what would happen._

 _He'd be so happy, he'd pick her up and spin her around, break up with his new girlfriend, and they'd live happily ever after. It was such an obvious prospect._

 _But it was also naïve to think real life happened that way. And she could see underneath his happiness and hope beginning to flare on the surface. Underneath the initial emotions, there was also a beginning of fear starting to sprout. Because he thought she'd uproot everything in his life now that things were different._

 _She knew what she had to do. She remembered Dakota's words to her, once upon a time…_

The hardest lesson of all…

 _She didn't listen then, but now she was going to._

 _She reached up and slowly removed his hand from where it rested against her face, lowering it back onto the rail. "Yes," her voice sounded hollow and dull to her ears. "You thought I was, but…I wasn't."_

 _He furrowed his brow. "I-I tried to find you, you know. When you vanished, I did everything I could, but I couldn't find you."_

 _Rebecca sighed sadly. "That's because you weren't meant to, I'm afraid."_

" _What do you mean?"_

 _The moment of truth. "Remember when I told you that my familial relationships were complicated?"_

 _He nodded. "Yes, I do."_

" _Well, my sister decided that she would try to find me, and…I knew she wouldn't understand if she found that I was happy again, but without my family. See, she was a criminal at the time, and…she had a tendency to become violent when she found things she didn't like. And I knew, that she would try to hurt people here just because I had a life here. So I thought it best to leave, to try to stop her."_

" _But…you didn't even leave a note. Nobody knew what had happened to you. You disappeared without a trace!"_

 _She smiled sadly. "I couldn't risk you coming after me, because then she'd try to hurt you, and I…may not have been able to stop it. I'm sorry for leaving."_

 _He swept a hand across his face, trying to comprehend all that he'd just heard. His gaze changed to fix on the city lights below them again, and Rebecca patiently waited, until he sighed tiredly._

" _So, if you're here again, I take it that your sister is no longer a threat to us."_

 _She closed her eyes, trying not to dredge through all her pain right then. She couldn't deal with it then. She had to get through this without breaking down. "Yeah. But I'm not staying."_

 _He looked at her confusedly. "You're not? Why?"_

 _She squared her shoulders as she prepared to answer. "Because you don't deserve to have your life uprooted by me. You're happy now, and I'm glad that you are. I don't see a reason to try to wedge myself back into your life."_

" _But…but, I missed you. I don't want to lose you." He sputtered, eyes widening from the fear. But, Rebecca Storm knew one thing he didn't yet. He could live without her. And she would learn to live without him._

" _And you won't, but we both know that I can't stay here without making things more complicated for you." She smiled sadly at him._ They _…were not going to work out. Not right now, anyway._

" _But—" He certainly was stubborn, but that was one of the reasons why she loved him. He wasn't afraid to stand up for his beliefs. She'd always admired that internal strength inside him._

" _Does she make you happy?"_

" _What?" He was obviously not expecting her to bring up his current girlfriend, nor was he expecting her to be so…non-hostile towards her. But she didn't want to go down in history as the mean, manipulative ex. She didn't want to resort to dirty tactics. She didn't want to be Violet. She wanted to go about this the right way. She wanted him to choose what made him happy, even if it wasn't her. And she'd been watching them earlier that day. She saw their light little touches, their soft kisses, the joy on both their faces when being in the other's presence. It was clear that he'd moved on. Even though there had been a pang in her chest at the thought._

" _Does she make you happy?"_

 _Unsurprisingly, he dithered, clearly not wanting to say anything that might hurt Rebecca's feelings. But, finally, he answered in defeat underneath her gaze. "Yes, she does. Being around her…is nice. It's good."_

" _Then you shouldn't feel like you have to choose between the two of us. Both of you should be happy, and it's clear that you've found it in each other. I'm glad that you're happy, too, and I don't want to be the cause of your pain in this. So…this is goodbye." She dropped her eyes to the ground as she heard his sharp intake of breath._

 _He looked at her curiously. "Where will you go?"_

" _I've got a job offer at the capital city; apparently I impressed someone over there for some reason." She smiled grimly, certain that she knew how she'd impressed someone. When she'd killed her own sister._

 _He shuffled around nervously before speaking, locking his blue eyes on her. "Well…I hope that, wherever you end up, you'll be happy."_

 _She closed her eyes for a few minutes, knowing that she'd probably never be happy again. She couldn't just bounce back and heal like the last time; it was too painful this time. She'd just have to…see where life would lead her, for now. Maybe it would make her happy, maybe it wouldn't. Right now she didn't much care what happened to her. "Maybe someday, hopefully." She answered him as she smiled falsely. It looked like she was going to have to learn how to use that mask in the years to come._

 _The scene once more switched. This time she couldn't see anything at all; it was pitch-black. But she could hear._

 _She heard the earth-shattering cry of a woman in searing pain. She cringed at the sound, surprised that her eardrums didn't burst. The cries went on for what seemed like days, but was probably only minutes. At last, light replaced the darkness, bathing her in its glow. She could also see shapes, but they were much too blurry to make out properly, though she supposed one might have a woman, and the other a man. She finally heard a deep voice echoing through the room they were in, voice cracking from emotion._

" _She's beautiful, Sky."_

 _Then, the light abruptly went out, plunging her back into darkness. Except this time, the darkness seemed to grow a form in front of her. She could feel tentacles of inky blackness tightening around her arms and legs, keeping her in place, even as she started to struggle, pulling on her restraints._

 _Then the darkness in front of her began to speak, the voice like fingernails scraping down an antique chalkboard. "It all happened because of you, darling. You could have prevented it."_

" _N-no," Rebecca answered shakily, fear gripping her heart as she continued to struggle to get free. "That's not true."_

" _It is, and you know it. You saw the signs, you could have prevented your life from being ruined by your sister, but instead you allowed_ this _to happen!" Unwillingly, images of dark flames ravishing through her old hometown flashed through her mind, as she heard her sister's maniacal laughter through it all. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the vision as the dark form in front of her continued hissing, "It's_ your _fault! It was always your fault! And you will be judged for it!"_

 _Suddenly, Rebecca found herself in a courtroom, chained to the middle of the floor in front of a faceless jury. A tall hooded form in dark robes was pacing impatiently in front of her, but stopped as the datapad in his hand flashed with an ominous red light. He turned to her._

" _Rebecca Storm, daughter of the First Phoenix Magician, you have been found guilty of betrayal, murder, and mass genocide. What do you have to say for yourself?"_

 _With a chill running down her spine, Rebecca recognized the voice as the dark form from earlier. "It wasn't me!" She cried desperately, chains rattling noisily with her every move. "That was my sister, it wasn't me!"_

 _The figure turned triumphantly to the jury. "See, even with her imminent demise she still seeks to place the blame on others." He turned back to her. "Since you have pleaded not guilty, despite the evidence stacked against you, the highest capital punishment is permitted, which is…death."_

 _A sword appeared in his hand, and he leisurely stalked to her, even as she continued to deny the charges leveled against her. "It's not my fault! It isn't! Please, you have to believe me!"_

 _Stopping just in front of her, the figure leaned in close to her face. "Like you believed in your dearly departed sister?" He laughed darkly and menacingly. "I think not, little girl. You deserve everything that's coming your way, starting with this." He swung the sword, and Rebecca could just feel the cold hard metal against her skin as it sliced her open…_

* * *

…and her eyes finally flew open. She sat up and looked around. She was in her quarters on one of the many Republic ships, waiting to be transported back to Coruscant after her last mission. Panting from her dream, she raised a hand to her forehead and felt the sweat dripping from it.

Nightmares were awful for her. She'd gotten her first one when she was about six, and she had thought that she was burning to death. She'd screamed so badly then, she was actually surprised that the windows in the house hadn't shattered.

After her mother had been killed, she kept having nightmares of that awful night, and then after Violet died, she kept having nightmares of _that_ night. And…and…she was just so _tired_ of everything. She wished she could move past this. She wished she could be happy. But she couldn't.

Because it was her fault.

Pulse still slamming in her ears, she fumbled around for her private comlink and keyed in a code. After a few moments, a familiar voice picked up.

"Dakota Farthing here." Rebecca nearly sobbed at her friend's voice. It had been months since she'd heard her voice. She hadn't had time to call her lately with all the missions she'd been doing.

"Dakota," she said desperately into the comm. There was silence for a few minutes, then Dakota's voice rang out again.

"Rebecca, is that you?"

"Yes," she answered with defeat. She wished she could deal with things on her own, but she just couldn't. She always needed someone to help her. She flicked on the holoprojection, allowing her to see her friend bathed in blue light.

Dakota raised an eyebrow quizzically at her friend, voice taking on a concerned tone when she took in her friend who was clearly about ready to crumble. "Rebecca, are you alright?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine; I just had another nightmare."

Dakota sighed. "They've been getting worse, haven't they?"

"Yeah, they are. But I'll be fine. They're just nightmares. They're not real, so they can't hurt me."

Dakota pressed her lips into a thin line. "Maybe not physically, but the mental blows still hit their mark, don't they." It wasn't a question.

Rebecca shook her head. "I…I can't talk about it right now, Dakota, please." She just wasn't ready. Not yet. Those nightmares instantly made her a little girl who was scared of the dark again. And this time she didn't have her big sister to help her get through them.

"Rebecca? Have you ever thought about talking to other people? Besides me, I mean." Dakota spoke with caution in her voice as her hologram flickered. "I think it might be good for you to talk to someone else for a change."

"What, you mean like a therapist?" Rebecca asked incredulously, ready to roll her eyes at the suggestion. She hated talking to complete strangers who acted like they knew what they were talking about. "Dakota, you know that I hate—"

"I didn't mean a therapist, Rebecca," Dakota patiently interrupted. "I meant another friend of yours. Isn't there anyone else that you've become friends with in the Republic Army?"

Rebecca thought about it for a while. She didn't make friends particularly easily, as she had learned to keep a cautious distance from people over the years if she didn't know them too well. She didn't want another situation like with her sister to repeat itself. But, there was one person…

"I suppose…I have a friend here. His name is Rex, and he's a Captain of one of the Republic battalions in the Army. You actually met him; he was the clone that came with the Jedi to find Wicura." Rebecca waited for Dakota's reaction on the hologram. Oddly enough, she seemed to perk up at the mention of Rex with a strange spark in her eyes that hadn't been there before. It looked almost…hopeful?

"And you trust him enough to talk to him?" Dakota cocked her head to the side as she waited for Rebecca's reaction, now looking curious, but with the spark still in her eyes, as though she was waiting for something to happen that she already knew about.

"Yes, I do," Rebecca answered honestly. She didn't know how, but over the past months, she felt like she could tell him anything and he could help her work through it. Before, she had been afraid that he would judge her for her past mistakes because his own ties to family were so strong. But after their talk on Umbara, something had changed in their relationship. It felt different, but also strangely exciting.

But for some reason, she also felt…fearful? She didn't know why she felt fear when she thought of Rex; she had never seen or known anything about him that made her feel like she should fear him. But she couldn't make the feeling go away.

"All right, if you trust him, then I trust you." Dakota turned her head away from the holocam for a moment, but Rebecca still saw the smile stretching across her features. "I just want you to know I hope you find what you're looking for out there."

"Don't go yet, please," Rebecca pleaded with Dakota, who looked surprised, then schooled her expression.

"Well, what do you want to talk about?"

Rebecca paused, unsure of how her request would sound to her friend. "I just…just tell me a story, like back in the old days."

Dakota's eyes shone with a softness on the 'cam, and she smiled warmly. "All right, Rebecca."

Rebecca knew it was childish to want to hear a story, but she couldn't help herself from asking. The stories reminded her of a better time in her life, before things had gotten so complicated. Whenever she heard those stories, she felt…not exactly happy, but lighter, as though part of her burden had been taken off to be carried by someone else. And the stories helped her forget about the gnawing pain from that hole in her heart.

"There once was a young man who lived on a desert planet. His name was Luk—er, _Luceno_. He lived during a time when hope was a frail and delicate thing, when a great darkness roamed the galaxy, threatening to overtake and consume everything that was filled with light…"

* * *

 _A/N: Rebecca and Dakota's dynamic is really interesting for me to write (and hopefully for you to read). They represent to each other either what they never had (like in Dakota's case) or what they never got to keep (like in Rebecca's case), which would be, of course, a family. Even if they don't always agree on certain things, they are always there to lean on one another._

 _Also, there's only a few more chapters left in this story, and then Part 1 will be done (no, you didn't misread that; I'm planning a trilogy story with this project)._

 _And, FYI, I was listening to the song "Harry and Hermione" from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince when I wrote this; I think it does quite well as a chapter theme for this one._

 _Happy New Year, and remember, reviews are food for a fanfiction writer's soul! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this._


	17. Chapter 17: The Beginning

_A/N: I've decided to come to a decision regarding POD: due to the minimal amount of positive response this story has gotten at this point, I've decided to try to get to the chapters that end Part 1; hence, the large time jump. I also really want to start Part 2; it'll be a very…interesting part, I'll tell you that (and don't even get me started on Part 3). This is when things really start to kick off and prepare for the rest of the trilogy, so buckle in for the ride!_

* * *

 **Chapter 17: The Beginning…**

 _20 BBY (8.5 months later)_

Rex looked at the Senate building, wanting more than anything right then that he could be there for Ahsoka. She needed someone to be there for her when she went up against the Senate jury for her trial.

For her judgment.

Even though the trial was being broadcast live on the screens all over the planet, he still wanted to be there in person. He didn't want to depend on a camera for the information, especially not when his Commander, his _friend_ , was literally fighting for her life. And, as much as he wished he could deny it, he highly doubted that the Senate would spare her from this fate.

He wished he could have faith in these people, in this Republic, but he didn't know how. Ever since meeting Cut and Krell, his faith in the government he served was dwindling, slowly, but surely. Especially recently. Especially now.

And the worst part of it was that he wasn't sure if he could even trust the Jedi Council anymore, after they expelled Ahsoka from the Order. How could they _do_ that? Even with the so-called evidence stacked against her, they _knew_ her, they trusted her (or he thought they had, anyway). And they just threw her out to face the pack of anoobas alone, so to speak. How could they—

"Rex?"

The clone captain whipped his head around to find Rebecca Storm standing behind him with a quizzical look in her violet eyes. He wasn't expecting to find her on Coruscant; he usually just met with her on the _Resolute_ or on the battlefield. But never Coruscant.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when he realized Rebecca was still talking to him. He shook his head to get his focus back. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that, Rebecca?"

She furrowed her brow in concern as she took in his expression. "I said, what are you doing outside the Senate building, Rex? Are you okay?"

He wanted to lie, to bury the pain inside of him for a while longer. But he knew he couldn't. Not with her. Never with her.

Over the past months, their—whatever it was, he supposed it was a _friendship_ , but it had felt like more in the recent months, after Umbara—their relationship had steadily grown in the months after that horrid battle. He felt lighter when he was with her, like she was the bacta that soothed his mental wounds. And he missed her when she was gone, he missed her almost more than anything in his life. He knew that what he felt for her was beyond a simple friendship, but he was a clone. He hadn't been quite sure at first what he felt for her. Clones were bred for battle, not relationships. Yet over the course of the past year, he knew that what he felt for her was more special and intimate than a friendship.

When she spoke to him, her voice was like that of an angel's. When she touched him, he craved the warmth that came from that touch. When she smiled, he knew it was more important to keep that smile on her face than to keep fighting the war.

Rex finally found his voice as he answered Rebecca. "I was…I was hoping to get inside to see Ahsoka's trial."

Rebecca looked confused. "Ahsoka Tano's on trial? What's she done?"

 _She didn't know?_ "You haven't been paying attention to what's been going on in the news? It's all over the planet." She had to have seen _something_ about it.

Rebecca shook her head. "No, I just got back on the planet; I haven't been paying much attention to the news. What are they accusing her of?"

Rex sighed, taking off his helmet and running his hand over his scalp, knowing she wasn't going to like this. "They think she bombed the Jedi Temple."

Rebecca narrowed her eyes as she took in the information, a wary look entering them. "And did she?"

"According to the evidence, she's guilty." Rex said, resigned as he saw the screens nearby show the courtroom. The trial was starting soon.

"But you don't think so, do you?" Rebecca said knowingly as she studied him. "You think she was framed."

"Yes, I do. I think someone else bombed the Temple and decided to frame her for it. And I'd hoped I could see the trial in person. She needs to know someone else is there for her, especially after the Council hung her out to dry." He tried to subdue the bitterness in his tone at the mention of the Council.

Rebecca pressed her lips into a thin line, disappointment entering her expression. "I can't say that I'm too surprised about that, I'm afraid. The Jedi here are...well, they don't always make the right choices about these kinds of things. They probably thought it was the best thing for them to do, but _—"_

"That doesn't make it right," Rex finished for her with a defeated sigh, ready to go back to the barracks. He supposed he could see the trial on the holoscreens there, but it wasn't like being there in person. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rebecca step up to the locked doors keeping him from entering.

"No, it doesn't." Rebecca agreed. She started keying something into the control panel. "There's no excuse they can really hide behind if your friend is found innocent."

To Rex's surprise, the door to the Senate building slid open as she finished and started to step inside. "How did you get it to open? Those doors are sealed for everyone except the senators and other personnel."

Rebecca had a sheepish look on her face as she answered. "I know one of the senators here, and he gave me the keycode for emergencies. I doubt this is what he had in mind when he gave it to me, though." She gestured inside the door. "Are you coming or not?"

"What?"

"You said you wanted to watch the trial in person, right? Well, here's your chance. You're with me, and I have the correct ID, so they won't really question anything about you being here."

Nodding at her, Rex followed her into the Senate building as she took his arm, and trailed her as she quickly walked through various corridors and doorways, apparently knowing exactly where she was going, until she finally led him through a small doorway. Stepping through it, the clone captain found himself in a room that overlooked the court room. Through the windows, he could see people down in the other room assembling for the trial.

Then Ahsoka walked in and stepped up to the platform. Rex wished he could have given her some parting words before the trial, but he knew that he could get thrown out of the building for disrupting the trial before being given permission. His attention on her was abruptly interrupted as Rebecca nudged him and silently pointed to another door in the court as the Chancellor began to speak. Rex grit his teeth as he saw Admiral Tarkin walking through as the prosecutor against the Togruta Jedi. _Ex_ -Jedi.

He'd always had a bad feeling about Tarkin after the Citadel. As Rex continued to watch, he was struck with the image of a viper, just waiting to turn and strike at the most unexpected moment. And then, as Tarkin began to lay the evidence against Ahsoka, that was exactly what he seemed like. He could see the malice in the Admiral's eyes when he looked at Ahsoka, or when he glanced up at the Jedi Council in the stands nearby. He knew that Tarkin had never really trusted the Jedi, but this was different than just distrust; this was a _need_ to prove the Jedi wrong, plain and simple.

Tarkin continued to speak against Ahsoka, recounting several things that seemingly pointed to Ahsoka being the bombing culprit: the murder of Letta Turmond seemingly by her Force-using hands, her escape from custody, her contact with Asajj Ventress, and the explosives found with Ahsoka when she was re-captured. Even Rex couldn't deny that it painted his Commander in a bad light, but he clenched his fist and kept the hold on his temper. Beside him, Rebecca silently watched it all, eyes flicking from Tarkin to the Jedi Council, as though unsure which one she should focus on more for signs of treachery.

Finally, Tarkin finished his prosecution speech and allowed Senator Amidala to defend the teenaged Togruta. As she began, Rex closely listened to her speech and couldn't deny that she was definitely the right person to be defending Ahsoka as she attempted to refute Tarkin's accusations.

Rex leaned closer to Rebecca, unable to keep quiet any longer. "Do you think the court will agree with the Senator?" he asked quietly, remembering to keep his voice down.

Rebecca watched Senator Amidala for a few minutes before answering, her face looking a little worn-out. "As much as I wish they would believe your Commander…I can't help but remember what Dakota once told me back on Kalifa. She told me that courts these days…they don't know how to use logic in trials anymore; they only want to look for what seems to physically be happening, and ignore the rest. Maybe it has to do with corruption or blackmail; maybe it's their stubbornness to not be proven wrong about what they already think they know. So…I don't know what's going to happen. Not really."

"But they could still save her, right?"

Rebecca turned to look at him, sorrow burning brightly in her eyes. "If there's one thing I've learned about Dakota, it's that she's rarely wrong about things like this."

Rex wished he could rescind her remarks, but he had to admit that he never did trust politics. Watching the trial, he focused on the court members. They looked…dispassionate about it all, like they'd already made up their minds, and nothing was going to change it.

Senator Amidala finished her defense, and the crowd waited as the court quietly conversed amongst themselves. Rex closed his eyes, trying to stave off the hopelessness coursing through his veins. Beside him, Rebecca placed her hand on his shoulder wordlessly. They didn't need words to know what the other was thinking.

They never did.

The voice of one of the court members ringing out in the room reached Rex's ears, and his eyes opened to find Chancellor Palpatine speaking to Ahsoka. He held his breath in anticipation; Rebecca stood stock-still as her eyes locked on the elderly man.

"Ahsoka Tano, by an overwhelming count of—"

"Chancellor!"

The clone captain jerked at the sound of his general's voice filling the room with his cry. Eyes widening, his saw Skywalker walking purposefully into the room, followed by a squad of Temple Guards. He thought he saw a flash of black and green in the cluster, but he was too far away to properly tell.

His heart in his throat, he could only watch as Skywalker presented his proof of Ahsoka's innocence in the Temple bombing in the form of the young Jedi Barriss Offee. He let out a breath of relief as the Miralan Jedi made her confession to the court, happy that Ahsoka would no longer have to answer for the crime, but he couldn't help the strange feeling in his gut that things would never really be the same.

* * *

 _Later in the day_

"Understood, General." Rex said dejectedly, shutting off his wrist comm as he walked through the halls of the barracks on Coruscant. He knew he should get some sleep, but he didn't think he'd be able to make himself. Not after what he had just found out from Skywalker. That Ahsoka had refused to stay with the Jedi Order.

He felt sick to his stomach. But not from fear, or anger at his Comman—er, _ex-_ Commander now. No, he felt like his foundations had, once again, become shaken by the realities of life. He supposed he wasn't supposed to be so negative about his commanding officers, that he could be reconditioned if he ever voiced these thoughts to a Jedi, but he couldn't stop the thought from forming in the dark recesses of his mind: _What if she's right?_

 _What if the Republic isn't something worth fighting for?_

He wished sometimes he could be ignorant about those things, but he knew he'd never forgive himself if it really was like that. He just…wished things could be simple. He wished he could go back to a place where people weren't two-faced, and he wasn't worried about fighting to live another day.

As time went on for him, as he saw more and more battles, more and more death, more and more things that shook his beliefs, he wondered if it was really worth it. Was all this pain really worth fighting like this? Did he really want to fight for something, now that he'd become more experienced, now that he'd seen that things weren't as black and white as it had been in training? When would it all end? Where would he end up after the war?

All those other times, he had brushed it aside, and kept this knowledge deep within his heart. He figured it hadn't mattered at the time, that it was a one-time thing. That it wouldn't happen again. But now…now that he had seen what the Republic had nearly done to Ahsoka, he knew he truly needed to know.

Lost in his tumultuous thoughts, he suddenly crashed into someone, falling against the wall from the momentum. Looking up, his apology already on his tongue, he was struck mute at seeing Rebecca.

"Oh! Rex, I was just looking for you," Rebecca said, regaining her composure from the surprise of their collision.

"What do you need, Commander?" Rex asked quizzically, as he raised his hand and scratched the back of his scalp from nervousness.

Rebecca wrung her gloved hands together. She'd been doing that a lot these days, he'd noticed. "I…heard what happened with Ahsoka Tano."

Rex clenched his jaw as he heard his friend's name, fighting to control that onslaught of emotions. The hurt, the anger, the helplessness.

"Not a whole lot we can do about that these days, Commander." Rex answered dejectedly as he began to walk down the corridor again, with Rebecca following him.

He tapped away at his datapad, sending out a message to the 501st to report at 0600 the next day, trying to ignore the young woman beside him. It wasn't that he didn't want her around anymore; he just wanted to be alone at the moment to sort his mind out.

He paused, and looked closely at Rebecca. She looked like she was waiting for something.

"What is it?" He asked in a gruff voice. Rebecca jerked, seemingly being pulled out of her own thoughts. She seemed to be in debate with herself, and came to a decision, walking ahead of him now, pulling on his arm so he'd follow her.

"Where are we going?" He asked confusedly as he was pulled along, wondering what she was doing.

"The mess hall." Her answer was short, and it was clear from her tone that there was no use arguing with her about it. Wordlessly, he followed her until they reached the mess, now empty due to the late hour. Rebecca sat down at a chair, and gestured him to sit with her. He relented, wondering what Rebecca thought this would accomplish. His question was soon answered.

"Rex, I know you don't like to do this very often, but I want you to talk to me." Rebecca cautiously laid a hand on his arm. He wanted to jerk away from her touch, but he knew that wasn't fair for her.

"What's there to talk about, Commander? Commander Tano left because she couldn't trust the Jedi anymore because they threw her under the hoverbus and made her think she didn't matter." Rebecca raised an eyebrow at that statement, though it had been stated in a neutral tone, and nodded for him to continue. He couldn't deny her this, even though he wanted to.

"All my life, I was taught that the Jedi were the ones we could always count on; the ones that would never betray or harm us. They were supposed to be our saviors. But right here, right now? That's not what I can believe. Not after the way they threw Ahsoka out!" He had managed to keep his volume down, though his voice a risen quite a bit during his tirade. He clenched his fist tightly on the table, even as Rebecca reached out with her hand to soothe it. "How can I fight for them after this? How can I really trust them? How can I know that all the Jedi aren't like Krell?"

Rebecca flinched a little at the angry mention of the deceased Besalisk Jedi from the Umbara mission. He watched her reaction, a little confused by how she looked. She seemed…offended for some reason. Nevertheless, he went on. "These Jedi—the ones on the Council, anyway—they just don't seem like they can really be trusted to have someone's back anymore. And this war…it's made me realize a few things about how the Republic is. How can I go on like this?"

Rebecca rubbed her hand on his fist, but he kept it firmly clenched. He wished that something could be done about how he felt, he just didn't know what.

"Find something else to fight for."

Rex turned to look at the commander beside him, uncertain of what he'd just heard. "What?"

"Find something else to fight for, something that you _do_ believe in. Maybe it's in the Republic, maybe it's not, but either way, it's your decision. Not the Jedi Council's."

Rex thought about what she said for what seemed like hours. It was true, he hadn't had much faith in the Jedi lately; Ahsoka's trial just helped push those thoughts to the surface more quickly. And now…what was there to fight for? Maybe Cut was right to desert. If he couldn't fight for the Republic or the Jedi, then what could he fight for?

 _His brothers. His family._

The thought came to him unbidden, seemingly out of the blue. And, with a shock, he knew that he had never actually fought for the Jedi; he'd fought for his brothers. To protect them, keep them safe, help them live to fight another day. And he'd continue to do so until the war was over. For their future. And as he looked at Rebecca, he couldn't help but think that when it was over…maybe it wouldn't be so bad to settle down for a bit. To have a life outside of fighting.

A small smile formed on his face at the thought as he allowed his hand to relax and intertwine with Rebecca's. She met his eyes with her own and a smile as he basked in her presence, but she still looked conflicted about something. He couldn't help the question.

"What's wrong?"

Rebecca flinched at his question, and she reluctantly pulled her hand from his as she twined her hands together and propped her head on them on the table. She shook her head sadly as she answered. "It's just…all this talk about the Jedi has me thinking about things."

Rex crinkled his brow. He wanted to help her through it, whatever the problem was. "What sort of things?"

Her smile was tinged with sadness and bitterness. "My mother, for one. She was a Jedi once."

Rex was still for a moment as the surprise overcame him. "Your…mother? Was a…Jedi?" He couldn't believe it. Though Rebecca had helped the Republic, she always seemed to keep Jedi at arm's length for whatever reason. Even General Skywalker. But wait…

"I wasn't aware Jedi could have families."

Rebecca's face turned bitter and angry at his statement, like a switch had been flipped, and Rex had the sudden feeling he should keep her at arm's length. He couldn't help the thought from forming. She looked like a completely different person in that moment.

She looked more like an enemy than a friend.

"They can't," her response was cold and short. "My mother was thrown out of the Jedi Order when she was about your Commander Tano's age."

To say the clone captain was surprised was an understatement. He had never heard of another Jedi being forced to leave the Order before the war started. In the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder what else the Jedi were keeping from people. "Why would they do that?"

Rebecca's half-hearted laugh was bitter. "They thought she was turning into a Sith like Dooku is, all because she wasn't fitting into the mold they'd made, and was finding a better way to use the Force."

"Oh." Rex wasn't quite sure what else to say to that. "I'm sorry that happened to her."

She waved her hand dismissively at his apology. "It happened a long time ago, and she was fine after it. But knowing that these people that wrongly accused my mother are still running around, and aren't even _sorry_ for it, hurts." She settled in her seat, placing her hands in her lap as she stared aimlessly at the table, looking more to Rex at the moment like a child than an adult. "It always hurts."

With that statement, Rex felt like her pain was something he could never understand or hope to help her with. He wanted to soothe her, but he wasn't sure how. He just knew that he wanted to try. He placed his gloved hand firmly on her shoulder, causing her to look up at him.

"I'll always be here for you, Rebecca."

She covered his hand with her own as she smiled. That was all that mattered to him.

"I know."

* * *

Rebecca stepped into her quarters, feeling a lot better than she had in a long time. She couldn't help the smile that kept sprouting at the thought of Rex's support for her. It had been a long time since anyone besides Dakota (and Ruchbah) had really trusted her like he always seemed to. Who always stood by her.

Stopping at her dresser, she looked at her reflection for a moment, and fingered her engagement necklace from Ruchbah on her neck. She thought that marrying him would be good because she'd never really be at peace with her past. But with Rex, she never felt more at peace. It was time to make her own decision for once.

She reached up, and unfastened the clasp of the necklace, letting it fall into her hands. She inspected the jewel for a moment before allowing it to fall on the dresser. She couldn't describe how free she felt at that moment, at knowing that she wouldn't have to burden herself with the weight that necklace gave her much longer. She reached into her belt pouch for her comlink. Just as she was about to tap in Ruchbah's code, she heard the voice.

"Fancy seeing you here, _girl_."

Dropping the comm in shock, Rebecca whirled around to find the last person she ever wanted to see again. She felt her eyes narrow as she realized who the person in the shadows was.

" _Daku._ "

The Dark Magician calmly walked from his position so she could see him better. His hair was shaggier, but his cold eyes were the same as ever.

"Lovely to see you again, Lone Wolf. Shall we get down to business?"

* * *

 _A/N: And cue the cliff-hanger! (And the evil laugh)_

 _Also, announcement time: due to life in general, I'm trying to get out one chapter a month at least, but updates may be erratic._

 _Remember, reviews are food for a fanfiction writer's soul! And keep your eyes peeled; there's only a couple chapters of POD left, then Part 1 will be done!_


	18. Chapter 18:Of the End

_A/N: Warning-here there be angst. And possibly tears. Without further ado, the second-to-last chapter!_

 _Also: if you want to know, the theme for this chapter is "Newt Says Goodbye to Tina" by James Newton Howard from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and I highly advise you to listen to it, especially during the last half of the chapter._

* * *

 **Chapter 18: …Of the End**

 _19 BBY (1.0 month later)_

Rex couldn't believe it. He couldn't believe it. Fives was gone. Dead. Shot by another clone, another _brother_.

How could he have let this happen?

Sitting in his quarters, it was a question the clone captain had asked himself over and over. He should never have let the ARC trooper out of his sight; he should have stayed with him on Kamino to make sure everything was in order. He should have worked harder to find him on Coruscant. He should have—

A knock at the door jarred his thoughts, and Rex's head jerked up. His brow furrowed; he didn't recall inviting anyone to his quarters, but maybe it was someone like Cody or Skywalker.

Or maybe…

Rex strode to the door and tapped the panel. The door slid open to reveal a pleasant surprise, even in the midst of his turmoil.

Rebecca Storm.

* * *

 _Rebecca could hardly believe her eyes. She thought they'd made a deal to stay out of the other's way after Violet had died. And now Daku, the leader of the Dark Magicians, had apparently decided to resurface. The man who had helped ruin her life was back. Unbidden, the old anger and hate flared up again, and the lights in the room grew brighter until the bulbs burst, bathing the room in darkness and shadows. Rebecca closed her eyes in exasperation and pressed her hand against her forehead, annoyed at herself for losing control yet again. She summoned a ball of silver fire with a wave of her hand, bringing light to chase away the shadows once again. Daku seemed amused at her display, a patronizing smile playing on his lips as the fire's glow fell on him._

" _Six years since our last encounter, and yet, here you are, still losing control of your own power. Such a waste of potential for us deities. I'm surprised nobody in this army of yours has suspected anything being amiss yet."_

 _Rebecca grit her teeth; she knew he was baiting her. People like Daku always enjoyed verbal sparring, and it was true that she'd had a few close calls during battle. But she wasn't about to rise to it. Might as well get to the point instead of drawing things out; the sooner they got it over with, the sooner he could leave before she tried to kill him._

" _Daku." Rebecca's voice shook with barely contained emotion, eyes flashing dangerously. "What. Are. You. Doing. Here. We had a deal."_

 _His eyes flickered with malice, sizing her up for a moment with barely contained hate. Despite the circumstances, Rebecca inwardly smiled. She wasn't the only one with emotional issues._

 _He waved his black-gloved hand dismissively at her as he answered. "Yes, yes. Don't think that I've forgotten, Storm. It was simple: don't mess with me, and I won't mess with you."_

" _And I've kept that bargain, you_ sleemo _." Rebecca spat back._

 _Daku raised an eyebrow, unimpressed at her language. "Have you, girl? Because I've been in contact with a seer, and she tells me a different story of what's happened. Or rather, what_ will _happen."_

* * *

"Rebecca." Rex stated, surprised to see his friend after so long. He hadn't heard from her in a month. And every time he commed her, there was never an answer.

At first, he had thought of the worst, heart seizing in his chest at the thought of her lifeless body. He wouldn't have known how to cope with that kind of ordeal. But after checking the files, he'd found out that she wasn't dead, or even MIA; she was just on assignment and probably too busy to take on his calls. He had supposed he would just wait until she was finished. And now she was here.

He smiled tiredly at Rebecca, spirits slightly lifted. He always did feel better when she was around. Maybe she could help him make sense of Fives' death. "Come in; it's been awhile since I've had contact with you." He gestured her in.

She didn't say a word as she sat in a nearby chair and failed to meet his gaze, choosing instead to look at the wall. Looking more closely at her, Rex found a few changes since their last meeting.

Her dark hair had been long last time, in a braid falling down her back. Now, her hair was short, cut so that it fell to her shoulders. He also noticed dark circles under her tension-filled eyes, and she looked thinner, like she hadn't been eating enough lately. Her skin color was also paler than normal.

"Rebecca? You don't look so good; are you alright?" He knew he could tell her about Fives later. Right then, she looked like she needed him.

Her gaze turned from the wall to him uncertainly. She looked…scared. And Rebecca had never really looked scared in the years he had known her. What had happened to her?

"I…" Rebecca gulped, her eyes turning glassy as she grasped her necklace nervously. Not even thinking about what he was doing, Rex shot to her side and slipped his arms around her in a comforting hug. Rebecca immediately responded, her own arms desperately sliding around his back and clawing for purchase on the armor, nearly crushing him. But the part that squeezed his heart and made it difficult to breathe was when she began to quietly sob, tears sliding down her face.

Rex tightened his hold and set his chin on top of her head, pressing her face against his neck, confused and afraid for her as her tears slid down his armor. He had no idea what was happening or why she was like this. But she had come to him for some reason. He'd just have to wait for it. At the moment, all he could do was soothe her.

"It-it's alright, Rebecca," he said as her sobs began to wind down. "Whatever's wrong, I want to help you."

A muffled whisper came from his neck. He wasn't sure if he was meant to hear it or not. "No, you can't. Nobody can. No one ever goes against him."

 _Him?_

"Wh-what?" Rex pulled back from Rebecca to stare at her tear-stained face and red eyes. "What do you mean?"

Rebecca opened her mouth, and what she said next put a blaster bolt through him (just like Fives).

"I'm going back to Kalifa and marrying Ruchbah."

* * *

" _Please," Rebecca scoffed at Daku's obvious lie. "Dakota would never disclose information about the bits of the future she knows, so don't even try to deceive me."_

 _He shook his head at her, as though he were reprimanding a small child. "There_ is _more than one seer in the galaxy, child. I don't need to get information from that pesky little friend of yours. And what she said to me was…worrying."_

 _Rebecca's eyes narrowed until they were purple slits. She couldn't believe she was going to give him a minute more of her time. Her fingers itched to take up her lightsaber and end him. However, that was an impossible feat. "So talk. What did she say about me?"_

 _The Dark Magician held up his hands in a placating manner. "Now, now, don't get angry, girl. We both know you never benefit from such negative emotions."_

" _I'm done with your anooba-and-loth cat games, Daku. Talk!" The sound of her cry echoed throughout the room as her ball of fire fluctuated erratically, causing shadows to dance unevenly around the room._

 _Daku finally sighed and relented. "She told me that one day very soon you will do something. And the consequences of that action will end up being the downfall of_ my _people." His voice grew low and threatening. "And I won't let that happen."_

" _So, what are you going to do? Kill me?" Rebecca tried to keep her mental footing against her enemy, but she couldn't stop the fear from taking hold. She wasn't ready to die yet._

 _He shook his head, looking almost disappointed. "Afraid not, girl. All I want is for you to do something for me. I want you to go back to Kalifa when your term of service is up." He looked pointedly at her engagement necklace, abandoned on the dresser. "And I want you to marry that council member fiancée of yours. What was his name, Ruchbah Lyiknan? Good grief, what a name."_

" _Marry him?" Rebecca couldn't believe that he was interfering in her personal life. Then again, Daku had always been the type of person to meddle in every aspect of life. But this wasn't like him. He usually killed people that held him back. What had changed? "What difference will that make?"_

" _Enough of one so that my people will always live on," was Daku's response. His gaze turned even icier. "And you_ will _do as I say. If not, then I'm afraid I'll have to leave my haven and turn Kalifa into my new one. And I know you'd do_ anything _to protect your people."_

" _You can't do that! We have a deal!" Rebecca cried desperately. She knew that anything Daku wanted meant she should run as far away from it as possible, but going against him was, again, another impossible feat._

 _Daku's eyes hardened until they were black rocks. "The terms of our deal will be a moot point because of that future action of yours. But think about it, Rebecca. Do it, and you'll never have to deal with me again, not to mention the safety of your people being at stake here. So put that necklace on and marry him! Or you will see your people burn again in a worse way than your sister could have_ ever _done!"_

* * *

"You're _what_?" Rex could hardly believe his ears, though he supposed he should have seen it coming. She had never talked about what would happen when her term of service in the GAR was over, and lately he had hoped…expected that things had changed for her over the past year. She had never even mentioned her fiancée after their first encounter tracking Wicura Strain. To be honest, he had forgotten about the fiancée issue as their friendship flourished and became…something else. It felt like a lifetime ago. And now she was leaving the army. Leaving _him_. For a man she didn't love. With this happening and Fives' death, he felt like he was dying.

He wished he could convey all of those thoughts to her. But all that came out was, "But you don't love him!"

"Not in the way that matters, no," Rebecca agreed sadly as she wiped at her face. "But this is best for everyone."

"What about us?" Rex's voice was cold and hard, his hurt turning to anger at how she had led him on. He had _believed_ there was a chance for them. And she was breaking his heart.

Rebecca looked down. "I…I wish that I could tell you that there's still a chance, but…" She looked into his eyes, resting her hand against his jaw, trying to calm him. "...there isn't one, Rex. I'm sorry, but there's no choice. I have to do this."

He turned his face away from her, unable to stand seeing her. "You…you made me think that there was _something_ between us. Something that was worth having. But you—" He turned back to her and jabbed at her face, hand shaking and voice rising. "You lied to me. You always meant to go back to him, didn't you? You _always_ meant to leave me. You always wanted—"

"Of course I never wanted this!" Rebecca cried loudly in a broken voice, tears sliding down her face once again, surprising him into silence with her uncharacteristic vehemence. "You think I _wanted_ my life to be like this? Where I'd have to choose between being selfish and selfless? No! I never wanted it! But I…" Rebecca's voice finally dropped. "I can't go through another war. I just can't. And I can't choose you, because I don't want my people to become _me_. I _have_ to put my duty to them first, Rex. No single person is worth the lives and innocence of so many others. You know I'm right."

Rex stared at her. He didn't know what to say. It was clear that something else was brewing behind her motivations. Something sinister. And he knew, that if he was put in the same position, he would have to choose the same thing. It was the honorable thing to do. It might not be what he wanted, but the price of duty didn't allow you to be selfish. To have what you wanted.

He had to let her go.

"When do you leave?" Rex's voice finally pierced the air between them in a defeated tone. Rebecca had finally stopped crying, and her features softened.

"Now."

"I'll walk with you." Rex offered. It was their last chance to be together, and Rebecca seemed to agree, her lips turning up slightly as she nodded. No other words were needed. Nothing more could be between them.

* * *

Stepping out onto the docking bay, Rex looked at Rebecca. It looked like he'd never get a life he had hardly dared to dream of until a month ago.

The couple walked briskly to the ship that was going to take Rebecca home. A young woman with her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail was standing underneath it, making some last-minute adjustments, it looked like. She looked vaguely familiar to Rex, and he recognized her when she turned her face to them as they stopped, with her tan cloak flapping behind her. It was Dakota Farthing, Rebecca's informant friend.

He hadn't known what to think of the woman since he had only met her for about thirty minutes, but she had seemed fine, if a tad strange. Rebecca trusted her, at least. Dakota seemed to know the impending trip was not meant to mean good news; her face was grim, and she looked at Rebecca with obvious concern. He couldn't blame her.

"You're absolutely _certain_ you want to do this, Reba? There's no going back after this."

"I'm sure, Dakota." Rebecca answered tiredly as she began to walk away from Rex toward the ship's ramp. Rex could only watch. Dakota's eyes flitted from him to her friend, sadness entering her dark eyes. Rebecca finally paused at the ramp, but he had no idea what she was thinking.

Until she flew back to him and pulled his head down to hers in a desperate kiss.

Rex blinked in surprise, but soon lost himself to the sensation of her lips on his own, raising his hand to bury it in her hair. Her lips felt so soft. He had wanted to kiss her before, but he had never initiated it. There had been too much to do in the war to sneak kisses from someone he…deeply cared for. Someone he'd always care for.

All too soon, Rebecca broke the kiss, resting her forehead against his and locking eyes with him for a moment before she suddenly ran into Dakota's ship without another word, tears streaming down her face, leaving Rex to ponder her kiss, fingers pressed to his lips and staring off into space.

"I'm sorry this happened," Rex was jolted out of the bittersweet moment by Dakota as she walked to him, a sad smile on her face, eyes filled with sympathy. "Rebecca…doesn't do well under this kind of pressure, and she's made her share of mistakes because of it. But don't think that she cares any less for you because of it."

He had to ask. "What's really going on? Why is she doing this?"

Dakota seemed to struggle with words as she tried to answer, eventually choosing the vague approach. "Something will happen one day, and Rebecca hopes that she'll be able to prevent the pain that comes with it this way. And a soldier's mindset believes that the lives of the many outweigh her own wants and needs."

Rex nodded. "I can understand that; I just wish I could help her," Whatever was going on, he wanted to face it with Rebecca.

"There'll be a time for you to come, but it's not right now, I'm afraid." Dakota reached into her pocket and pulled out a holoprojector. "But don't ever stop wanting to know the truth."

She pressed the projector into his hand and went away into her ship, the ramp retracting as she walked up it. As it started to take off, Rex found his eyes directed to what she'd given him. His eyes widened in surprise when he clicked it on.

It was Rebecca. Or, at least, a younger version of her. She looked to be about eleven or twelve years old, with a carefree, happy expression on her face that Rex had never seen her have before. As he watched, the image switched to to another image of her in her current age, or maybe it was taken before she had left for the GAR. Her expression was more reserved, but there was a softness in her eyes and a small smile gracing her lips.

Chances were he'd never see Rebecca Storm again. But at least he had something left of her. A sad smile lifted his lips for a moment as he looked up again and saw Dakota's ship leaving the docking bay.

 _Don't ever stop wanting to know the truth._

 _Organic chips built into our genetic code...to make us do whatever someone wants...even kill the Jedi._

Maybe...it was time Rex started digging into what had really happened that day.

It was time to find out who the real enemy was.

* * *

 _A/N: I had this kind of thing going down since the very beginning, and nothing you could have said would have changed that. Remember, this is only the first part of three, so this isn't the end of the story yet. I'm working on the epilogue, which will be the end of POD, and will take place during_ Revenge of the Sith _, if you're one of those people who wants to know the approximate chronology of my head-canon in Star Wars lore (a.k.a if you're like me)._

 _As always, reviews are food for a fanfiction writer's soul! Let me know what you think, please!_


	19. Chapter 19: Epilogue

_A/N: Last chapter of Price of Duty is up! I honestly didn't think I'd finish this sometimes. There was just so much to do in this, trying to figure things out in this thing, and now it's done! Por fin (I think that means finally)! Without further ado, the epilogue!_

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Epilogue**

 _19 BBY (3.0 months later)_

She stood from atop the plateau jutting out from the hill and marveled at the planet's beauty. The green grass, the brightly colored flowers, the dark forest green of the trees, the blue cloudless sky. It was a beautiful day, but it was tinged with a bittersweet feeling only two people knew the depth of.

She turned and started to make her way down the hill to the Kalifan Capital, Masato City, then paused as an idea formed in her mind and mentally deviated her course. She reached the speeder bike at the bottom and input the coordinates she wanted to go to. The bike pinged, indicating the mapped-out route, and she followed it to her desired location, blonde hair flowing behind her, going over rivers and other obstacles that were natural to Kalifa's physiology.

She finally stopped the bike in a clearing and stepped off, silently studying it around her. The meadow of silver lilies was still there, but that was no surprise, seeing as how that particular type of flower had magical properties. Of course they never aged or died with the seasons like everything else. The gravestone was still in the midst of the flowers. She walked over to it, filled with sorrow at the memory of what had happened that day so many years ago, just like all the other tragedies in life. A family's bond, forever shattered because of the horrors that had happened then.

How ironic that Rebecca Storm was to be married on the anniversary of the day of her sister's death.

Dakota Farthing stooped down to the gravestone's level and ran her fingers over the name meticulously carved into the rock. She emitted a breathy chuckle as she shook her head, hand dropping down.

" _Lamento que tú no puedes estar aquí,_ _V_. You could have helped knock some sense into your _vod_. And you could have helped her get through this trial." She stood up and walked back to her speeder, setting the coordinates for the city this time, weaving through the forest to get there faster. There was no harm in trying one last time.

The city was bustling with activity; a typical day in the market place. She strode purposefully past stands selling jewelry, clothing, food, and odd little knickknacks to brighten up an empty shelf or two. She made her way to the Court building, weaving in and out of the crowds before reaching her destination. She had scarcely entered the building when she heard his voice and inwardly groaned. Scales Daladob.

"Stop right there, Lieutenant Farthing!" The blonde, overweight human barreled into her, his green eyes determinedly trained on her, nearly knocking her down in the process.

Dakota shook her head, feeling lightheaded, and turned to face the Councilman, pretty sure she knew what he was about to say. Or rather, demand. "You had better not be here for what I think you're here for, Scales."

"That's Councilman Daladob to you! When you are inside the Council building, you will address me with my full title! Show some respect!"

 _Says the man who shows no respect to anything or anyone other than himself,_ Dakota wanted to say. But it wasn't worth it to come to blows with him. Instead she shook her head in exasperation and spoke to Scales in as respectful a way as possible as she began walking, cloak flapping behind her. "I've already told you, Councilman Daladob, you don't have what's necessary to be trained in magic; you simply don't have the capacity _or_ the midi-chlorians."

She had to give him points for persistence, though; he was as stubborn as Rebecca. "And _I've_ already told you, I can just inject them into my bloodstream to make me more Force-sensitive—"

"And _I've_ already told you that there's nothing you can do to up your midi-chlorian count; they are something you're _born_ with." Dakota shot back as she stopped and slid her card into a slot, activating the turbolift. "I've also told you that you can still learn to develop a mental connection with the Force if you're willing and patient."

"And I've told you that I don't have time for that kind of thing; I'm only interested in the physical aspect!" Scales's face turned red with impatient fury as he followed her into the turbolift, still ranting.

 _But you still have time to pester me with your nagging,_ Dakota thought. Instead of saying _that_ , she patiently answered, "And I have told you that I have absolutely no interest in training people who are only interested in the power of the Force because of what it can do to give them an advantage over others. I don't work that way." _Unlike you._

Scales still sputtered to win and make Dakota see things his power-hungry, political, _pointless_ way. "You can't do that, you _bruja de la demonia_! You are meant to serve _me_!"

"No, I'm not, actually," Dakota calmly answered as the turbolift finally stopped and she stepped off with Scales still angrily trailing after her. "I am meant to serve the Force, not _you_ , and it's telling me to _not_ take you on as a student of magic. Nothing you say can change my mind, Councilman. The fact that you just insulted me only cements my position in the matter."

"Oh, isn't it?" He spoke quietly as he quickened his pace to whisper into her ear, however out of breath he was, in one last attempt to convince her. " _If_ you _don't_ , then I'll be forced to reveal _everything_ about you to the world. All your secrets that you've worked to keep hidden, all the things about your _painful_ past. Are you ready for _that_ kind of knowledge to become common?"

Dakota rolled her eyes and stopped abruptly, causing him to run into her. "Do what you will, Councilman, but I still won't change my mind. My past doesn't bother me anymore, and if it bothers other people, that's their problem to deal with, not mine. I don't care _what_ you do, Councilman Daladob, but I am _not_ teaching you magic. So if you'll excuse me, I have a bride to see."

Dakota strode away from Scales Daladob, who was, for once, stunned speechless. She guessed that not a whole lot of people had held up under his threats to destroy their reputations. If she was anyone else, she would have felt smug for being able to stand against him, but she didn't. She only felt pity for the man. He was so sure that power and climbing the political ladder was the only thing that mattered in life, along with using fear to rule people, but he failed to see that it would mean absolutely _nothing_ in the end. He would most likely die old, bitter, and alone with no one caring what happened to him. Maybe not even his own family. It was a pathetic and sad fate.

Dakota finally reached the room where Rebecca was getting ready and she keyed in the door code, resulting in the door sliding open.

Rebecca turned, surprise in her violet eyes, before her gaze locked into a neutral expression. "What do you want, Dakota? I thought you were going to be waiting in the courtyard with everyone else."

Rebecca was wearing a white, floor-length wedding gown made of flowing chiffon material with cap sleeves. Silver flats were worn on her feet, and her dark brown shoulder-length hair was softly curled into ringlets, with a delicate silver circlet set on her brow. Her engagement necklace was held in her hands, yet to be worn.

If Dakota had been anyone else, she wouldn't have noticed how much tension her old friend was filled with, but she knew her too well. She knew Rebecca wasn't happy about marrying her soon-to-be husband, but she also knew that she didn't believe she had any choice with Daku's threat in play.

Over the past few months, Dakota had tried to help Rebecca realize that she didn't have to go through with an arranged marriage, that there were other ways to deal with a person like Daku, but every time, her friend hadn't listened and stubbornly refused. This was her last chance.

"I just wanted to see how you're doing, and I wanted to try to convince you one last time."

Rebecca shook her head, eyes narrowing, guard going up. "And I'll just tell you 'no' again. I'm not changing my mind. This..." her voice shook slightly before she righted herself, "...this is best for everyone."

Dakota shook _her_ head. "No, that's just what you want to believe so you won't feel so guilty about marrying a man you _don't_ love romantically, and who also has no idea that you don't love him in that way."

"And if I don't marry him, war will be brought upon our people, and I _won't_ have that happen. My decision is final: I'm marrying Ruchbah, and I'm _not_ telling him the truth. Besides," Rebecca shrugged indifferently, mask firmly in place again, "what can you do?"

"You can take a stand against Daku, Rebecca. You can help end his reign as a force lording his power over those he sees as weak. You can stop letting other people control you."

"No." Rebecca firmly shook her head, hair whirling around her head, defeated sadness coming over her expression as she breathed, "I'm not doing it."

Dakota sighed. "At least tell Ruchbah the truth, Rebecca; he doesn't deserve to be led on like this by you."

"If I tell him, then he won't marry me, and I _need_ him to marry me so Daku'll back off from us forever."

"Just because Daku will leave _you_ specifically alone doesn't mean he'll leave _other_ people alone. They might not be magicians, but they still don't deserve the fate Daku has forced on them anymore than one of your magicians do." Dakota shot back. Surprise and _shame_ flickered over Rebecca's face for a moment before she schooled her expression again. Fear of Daku was once again ruling her every thought. "And if you _don't_ tell Ruchbah, then it won't be a real relationship to begin with."

Rebecca laughed hollowly, eyes glistening with unshed tears. "It'll be real to him, and that's all that matters, Dakota."

"But _you_ know that it's not real, and will never be real. A marriage based on deception can _not_ survive, Rebecca. And if he ever finds out when you've already married, then his heart will completely break, and he'll be _angry_ that you agreed to this _knowing_ that you'll never love him the way he wants you to." Dakota knew why Rebecca was lying to herself. Daku was a powerful magician, and not someone you wanted on your bad side, but conforming to his every whim was not the way to deal with a soul-sucker like him.

"Then he won't find out; I'll make sure of it." With that last sentence, Rebecca turned back to her mirror and fastened her necklace around her neck, waiting to be replaced by the wedding necklace in the ceremony. "Is there anything else? I have to finish my makeup before the ceremony."

"No, I suppose not." Dakota said defeatedly, looking at her friend with pity. She'd have no idea what she let herself lose until it was too late. She exited the room and walked down the hallway, not knowing what else to do. She trusted in the Force, and knew there was a plan for Rebecca, but her friend just wouldn't listen anymore. She couldn't even hear the Force. And the choices Rebecca was making right then made her destiny very bleak indeed.

Then, Dakota stopped as an idea popped into her head. She thought it over, and made up her mind. She made her way to the turbolift with renewed purpose, silently thankful Scales had gone away, and slid her card into the slot again.

It was time to start planning for the bigger picture.

* * *

 _A/N: So, that's the end of Part 1. I'm working on the sequel, Remnants of the Storm, right now, but it's hard to juggle with school and everything in life, so I don't know how long it'll be before it's finally up (hopefully not a year). I guess you'll have to keep checking!_

Lamento que tú no puedes estar aquí _means "I'm sorry that you can't be here,"_ vod _means "sibling" (in this case, sister) in Mandalorian, and_ bruja de la demonia _basically means "demon witch," since I don't like to use curse words, so I'll have creative insults instead._

 _Thank you everyone who stayed with me to the end, and Boyy2k, wrmwolf, julyza, Lye an-Guest, trafalgars, Guest, Ashes, Aye-Sir, ClarrisaCallista Dawn, Hisan Sadness, cosmocat98, meep15, xxxTasha101xxx, KOTORFanatic, hatchetfish, Ms CT-782 and ninjamonkey5684 for reviewing, favoriting, following, et cetera! I really do appreciate the support, and it's always nice to know what people are thinking about my work. Again, thank you!_

 _As always, reviews are food for a fanfiction writer's soul, and I really would like to know your thoughts on how I ended things here! Please write a review!_


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